Hidden Gems Near Weymouth
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The hidden gems near Weymouth are Ringstead Radar Station, Butter Rock, Stair Hole, Fossil Forest, Tyneham Village, Cerne Giant, The Blue Pool and Winspit Quarry.
Weymouth sits on the Dorset coast with the Jurassic Coast unrolling to the east, and some of the county's quieter wonders lie only a short drive away. Follow the shore eastward and the clifftops above Ringstead Bay hold the concrete remains of a wartime radar post, while further along a slim white pinnacle of chalk called Butter Rock stands beneath the cliffs near Bat's Head.
Around Lulworth the sea has carved Stair Hole and left the stony rings of a Fossil Forest on a ledge below the coast path. Deeper into the Isle of Purbeck you can wander the abandoned cottages of Tyneham, gaze into the turquoise water of the Blue Pool near Wareham, or follow a valley down to the sea-cut galleries of Winspit Quarry.
Turn inland to the north instead and the great chalk figure of the Cerne Giant strides across a hillside above Cerne Abbas. Each rewards a little effort to reach.
Here are eight hidden gems to seek out near Weymouth.
Ringstead Radar Station
Photo: Anthony Vosper via Geograph.org.uk
Explore Ringstead Radar Station Just over eight kilometres east of Weymouth, on National Trust downs above Ringstead Bay, sit the remains of a wartime radar post reached along the coast path. This was a Chain Home station, one of the early-warning posts that watched Britain's skies during the war.
The tall masts are long gone, but the concrete blockhouses that once held the transmitter and receiver equipment still stand out on the clifftop. It worked from 1942 until the war's end and is reckoned one of the best-preserved of its kind in the south-west.
One of its buildings has since become a holiday let.
Butter Rock
Photo: Jonathan Thacker via Geograph.org.uk
Seek out Butter Rock A little under twelve kilometres east along the shore, Butter Rock is a slim white pinnacle of chalk standing on the Jurassic Coast west of Lulworth, near the headland of Bat's Head. This lone stack of bright chalk was left standing at the foot of the cliffs, a smaller cousin of the great arches and stacks along this dramatic stretch of coast.
It shows up sharply against the sea and the darker shore, a favourite of walkers and photographers on the path between Durdle Door and Bat's Head. Around it the cliffs rise as sheer walls of chalk, cut by dry valleys and worn into arches by the sea.
Stair Hole
Photo: Ian Capper via Geograph.org.uk
Discover Stair Hole Roughly fourteen kilometres from Weymouth, just west of Lulworth Cove, Stair Hole is a small, part-enclosed cove where the sea has broken through the hard outer rock by way of caves and arches to begin carving a new cove of its own. Its walls show the celebrated Lulworth Crumple, layers of limestone folded and buckled into tight waves by the same earth movements that raised the Alps.
You view it from the coast path above, where an information panel explains the scene, rather than walking onto a beach, and it shows in miniature how neighbouring Lulworth Cove was formed.
Fossil Forest
Photo: Julian Dowse via Geograph.org.uk
Visit the Fossil Forest A short way east again, just beyond Lulworth Cove, the Fossil Forest preserves the remains of an ancient forest on the South West Coast Path. What survives is not wood but stony, ring-shaped mounds that formed around the trunks of long-vanished trees rooted beside a lagoon.
A gate and a flight of steps off the coast path lead down to the ledge where they lie. The site sits within the Lulworth army firing range, so you can only reach it when the range is open, which makes a visit worth planning ahead.
Tyneham Village
Photo: Ian Capper via Geograph.org.uk
Wander Tyneham Village About twenty kilometres east, in a quiet Purbeck valley, Tyneham is an abandoned village emptied of its people just before Christmas 1943, when the War Office took it over for army training and never handed it back. Around 225 residents were moved out when it was requisitioned.
It lies inside the Lulworth firing ranges, so it can only be visited when they are not in use. You walk among roofless, weathered stone cottages, with two buildings kept as exhibitions, St Mary's Church and the old schoolhouse, laid out much as they were left.
A path leads down from the village to Worbarrow Bay.
Cerne Giant
Photo: Nigel Mykura via Geograph.org.uk
See the Cerne Giant Turning inland to the north, a little over twenty kilometres from Weymouth, the Cerne Giant is a huge chalk figure of a naked man carved into a hillside above Cerne Abbas, a club raised in one hand. Standing about 180 feet tall, its outline is kept clear by cutting the turf back to the white chalk beneath, and it is best seen from the road or the viewpoint across the valley.
The National Trust has cared for it since 1920. Its age is much debated, with recent testing pointing to a far later origin than the ancient date once assumed.
The Blue Pool
Photo: Chris Downer via Geograph.org.uk
Visit the Blue Pool This one is a longer trip, a drive of some twenty-six kilometres east toward Wareham and the Isle of Purbeck, but well worth it. The Blue Pool is a flooded old clay pit set among heath and woodland, its water known for changing colour, from turquoise and blue-green to grey and green, as fine clay particles suspended in it catch the light.
Clay was dug here for centuries for pipes and pottery. Today it is a quiet nature spot, with woodland walks around the pool, a small museum and an Art Deco tea room from the 1930s, set in heathland that shelters rare reptiles.
It is a protected site with an entry charge.
Winspit Quarry
Photo: Ian Coleby via Geograph.org.uk
Explore Winspit Quarry Furthest of the set, about thirty kilometres away on the Isle of Purbeck, Winspit rewards the drive southeast to Worth Matravers and a walk of about a mile down a dry valley. This disused stone quarry ends in galleries and caves cut horizontally into the cliff, with rock pillars left to hold up the roofs.
There is no beach; the quarry meets the sea at a rocky ledge where people swim off the rocks in calm weather, and climbers work the walls. It has served as a filming location for Doctor Who, bats roost in the sealed caves, and it sits on the South West Coast Path within the Jurassic Coast.
FAQs
How far are these hidden gems from Weymouth?
They range from about eight kilometres to thirty. Ringstead Radar Station is the closest at just over eight kilometres east of Weymouth, while Winspit Quarry, out on the Isle of Purbeck, is the furthest at around thirty.
Can you visit Tyneham and the Fossil Forest at any time?
No. Both Tyneham village and the Fossil Forest sit within the Lulworth army firing ranges east of Weymouth, so they can only be reached when the ranges are open. It is worth checking the firing times before you set off.
Which gem is best for a family day out near Weymouth?
The Blue Pool near Wareham suits families well, with woodland walks, a small museum and an Art Deco tea room, though there is an entry charge. The Cerne Giant above Cerne Abbas makes an easy, free viewing stop.
Conclusion
From wartime relics on the clifftops to abandoned villages and colour-shifting pools, the country around Weymouth holds far more than its own harbour and beach. The nearer finds, like Ringstead Radar Station, Butter Rock, Stair Hole and the Fossil Forest, cluster along the Jurassic Coast to the east and reward a walk along the shore.
Push a little further and you reach the ghost village of Tyneham, the chalk-cut Cerne Giant to the north, the Blue Pool near Wareham and the sea-cut galleries of Winspit. Some ask for a longer drive and a check of the firing-range times, but each repays the effort with a story and a view you will not forget.
Pack sturdy boots, pick a clear day, and these are the hidden gems to seek out near Weymouth.
