Best Beaches Near Salisbury
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best beaches near Salisbury are Ringstead Bay, Worbarrow Beach, Mupe Bay Beach, St Oswald's Bay Beach, Dungy Head Dorset, White Nothe Beach and Eweleaze Beach.
Salisbury sits inland in Wiltshire, but a drive south reaches the Jurassic Coast of Dorset, a run of dramatic cliffs, hidden coves and folded rock around Lulworth and Weymouth. East of Lulworth Cove, inside the army's firing ranges, lie the sheltered shingle of Mupe Bay and the broad curve of Worbarrow, reached only when the ranges are open, past the abandoned village of Tyneham.
West of Lulworth are the secluded coves below the great arch of Durdle Door: the pebble-and-sand of St Oswald's Bay and the clifftop viewpoint of Dungy Head above it. Further west toward Weymouth are the quiet National Trust curve of Ringstead Bay below the white chalk of White Nothe, with its remote undercliff beach, and the private campsite shore at Eweleaze.
Some need a range walk or a long descent, others sit below a clifftop car park. Here are seven beaches to seek out near Salisbury.
Ringstead Bay
Photo: Nigel Mykura via Geograph.org.uk
Ringstead Bay On the Jurassic Coast between Weymouth and Lulworth, Ringstead Bay curves away as a peaceful beach of shingle and sand under the towering white chalk of White Nothe. At low tide, sand and rock pools emerge across an offshore reef, and the water tends to be cleaner and the crowds thinner than at the busier resorts along the coast.
The National Trust owns the land, providing a clifftop car park and a beach cafe, and the South West Coast Path passes overhead on its way to Durdle Door. Fossils turn up in the rocks, and just inland lie the traces of a village emptied by the Black Death.
Hunt for fossils, then wander up for the view.
Worbarrow Beach
Photo: Chris Downer via Geograph.org.uk
Worbarrow Beach sits on the Purbeck coast of Dorset, a little east of Lulworth Cove, where a wide and shallow sweep of shingle and coarse sand ends at the pointed headland of Worbarrow Tout. Dramatic folded strata twist through the cliffs here, part of the Jurassic Coast.
Because the bay falls inside the army's Lulworth firing ranges, you can only get there when the ranges are open, walking roughly a mile down the valley from the Tyneham car park. No facilities wait at the shore.
The same route passes abandoned Tyneham, a village emptied of its people in 1943 and never given back. Pack for a proper day out.
Mupe Bay Beach
Photo: Philip Halling via Geograph.org.uk
Mupe Bay is a sheltered shingle beach set in a wide, cliff-backed inlet on the Dorset coast just east of Lulworth Cove, on the Jurassic Coast. A line of sea stacks called Mupe Rocks stands at one end, with a rocky reef running out offshore, and it is far quieter than the busy sights nearby.
It lies inside the Lulworth army firing ranges, so it can be reached only when the range walks are open, on foot from Lulworth Cove along the coast path, passing the fossil forest on the way. There are no facilities.
St Oswald's Bay Beach
Photo: Robin Webster via Geograph.org.uk
St Oswald's Bay is a secluded cove of pebble and sand on the Dorset coast, on the Jurassic Coast just east of the great rock arch of Durdle Door and west of Lulworth Cove. Backed by cliffs and reached by a steep descent on foot from the coast path or the Durdle Door car park, it is a quieter alternative to its better-known neighbours, taking in the same dramatic folded cliffs.
There are no facilities on the beach, and it is a spot for a swim and a scramble along the shore, with rock and sand uncovered at lower tides.
Dungy Head Dorset
Photo: David Smith via Geograph.org.uk
Dungy Head is a small headland on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, between Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, high on the South West Coast Path. It is a viewpoint rather than a beach, a grassy promontory looking out over the sea and along the cliffs.
Below it the ground drops to the boulder-strewn shore of St Oswald's Bay. A steep grassy path leads down toward the sands at Man o' War Cove nearby, so it makes a fine place to take in the coast before dropping to the beaches below.
White Nothe Beach
Photo: Nigel Mykura via Geograph.org.uk
White Nothe Beach This blunt white headland marks the eastern edge of Ringstead Bay, standing tall on the Jurassic Coast midway between Ringstead and Durdle Door. A line of old coastguard cottages and a wartime pillbox hold the top, reached on foot along the coast path, and from there the Smugglers' Path zig-zags steeply down the cliff to a tumbled undercliff and a lonely shingle and rock beach at sea level.
Timing matters, as you can only walk in along the shore from Ringstead close to low tide. The chalk here gives up fossils, so patient beachcombers tend to linger longest.
Eweleaze Beach
Photo: Jim Champion via Geograph.org.uk
Eweleaze Beach is a private beach below Eweleaze Farm at Osmington, on the Jurassic Coast near Weymouth in Dorset. A stone and pebble shore sits at the foot of steep steps down from the clifftop, with the Isle of Portland out across the bay.
The farm above runs a well-known summer campsite, and the beach is mainly for its guests. The coast path passes along the top of the cliffs, so walkers take in the shore from above even when the beach itself is given over to the campsite below.
FAQs
Which beaches near Salisbury need a firing-range walk to reach?
Mupe Bay and Worbarrow both lie inside the army's Lulworth firing ranges and can only be reached when the range walks are open, on foot from Lulworth Cove or down the valley from the Tyneham car park. The walk to Worbarrow passes the abandoned village of Tyneham, emptied in 1943 and never returned to its people.
Is Ringstead Bay easy to reach?
Ringstead Bay is the most straightforward of these, a National Trust beach with a clifftop car park, a beach cafe and a short walk down to the sand and rock pools. St Oswald's Bay near Durdle Door needs a steeper descent from the Durdle Door car park, and Eweleaze is mainly for guests of the farm campsite above.
Where can you find fossils and dramatic folded cliffs near Salisbury?
The whole coast here is the Jurassic Coast, but Ringstead and White Nothe are especially known for fossils in their chalk and rock, with White Nothe keeping a landslipped undercliff below its headland. Worbarrow and St Oswald's Bay both show dramatically folded strata in the cliffs behind the beach.
Conclusion
Salisbury sits inland in Wiltshire, but a drive south reaches the Jurassic Coast of Dorset, all dramatic cliffs, hidden coves and folded rock around Lulworth and Weymouth. East of Lulworth, inside the firing ranges, lie the sheltered Mupe Bay and the broad curve of Worbarrow, reached past the abandoned village of Tyneham.
West of Lulworth are the secluded St Oswald's Bay below Durdle Door and the clifftop viewpoint of Dungy Head. Toward Weymouth are the National Trust curve of Ringstead Bay below White Nothe, with its remote undercliff beach, and the campsite shore at Eweleaze.
From a range-walk bay to a smugglers' cliff path, these are the beaches to seek out near Salisbury.
