Lulworth Cove Coastal - To Durdle Door

Essential Intel

This is a popular tourist destination, so the clues at the top of the cliff may be less accessible due to volume of visitors at peak times. It can also be exposed here on windy days as well, so great care should be taken when completing this Trail. Check the weather before setting off and be prepared.

Navigating The Route

This is a circular Detective Mystery around Lulworth Cove, the South West Coast Path and Durdle Door, with Detectives helping D.I. Eve Ningall after Professor Archie O'Logie and his sidekick Ian Tologist have been knocked out at Durdle Door, following the Coast Path through their dig sites to uncover the truth behind the fossil dust and the bone heist.

The investigation covers 2.8 miles and should take around 3 hours to complete. You'll start from the pay and display car park near the Heritage Centre at Lulworth Cove, then head towards the Visitor Centre before following the South West Coast Path from Lulworth Cove to Durdle Door and back.

This Trail is not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs. The route is steep at times, with uneven walking, steps and a gate on the uphill path. There are also unfenced, sheer drops along the Coast Path, slippery steps when wet, exposed sections on windy days and care needed around the cliff-top route.

Take particular care at the road crossing near the Lulworth Cove Inn. On the return from Durdle Door, follow the diverted Coast Path section before retracing your route back up the steps and along the South West Coast Path to Lulworth Cove.

Getting There

By car: Start your investigation from the pay and display car park near the Heritage Centre at Lulworth Cove (BH20 5RQ), using ///control.rags.pelting. From there, head towards the Visitor Centre to begin gathering evidence.

By public transport: Make your way to the pay and display car park near the Heritage Centre at Lulworth Cove, then head towards the Visitor Centre to begin the investigation. The circular route returns you to Lulworth Cove once the fossil-dusted case has been worked through.

Need the Loo?

Toilets can be found between Clues 05 / 06 and at the end. Toilets and refreshments are also available at the top of Durdle Door car park if needed.

Bring Your Furry Sidekicks

Four-legged Detectives can join the coastal investigation 🐾

Keep dogs away from the unfenced cliff edges and watch them closely on the steep sections and steps. The route also includes uneven walking, a road crossing near the Lulworth Cove Inn and exposed cliff-top sections on windy days, so leads are a very sensible part of the kit.

Food & Drink Stops

Fossil dust, bone heists and sea air can make a squad surprisingly snack-focused.

There is a chance to stop for refreshments and stock up on supplies between Clues 01-07 and again at 11-12. The route passes the Lulworth Cove Inn, the Boat Shed Cafe and Lulworth Outdoors, and the Doll's House is a small museum sweet shop. You can also pack a picnic to enjoy along the route.

Want to Make a Day of It?

Jurassic Coast and Lulworth Cove

Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door form part of the Jurassic Coast, England's first National World Heritage Site. The route offers wonderful scenery along this coastline, which stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset and covers 96 miles of rock formations from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

Durdle Door

Durdle Door is the famous hole in the cliffs on the Jurassic Coast, and it is a dramatic centrepiece for this coastal case. The name 'Durdle' comes from the Anglo Saxon word 'Thirl', meaning a piercing hole or opening, and the 'Door' part was first recorded in 1811.

The Doll's House

Opposite the Inn, The Doll's House is actually a wooden shed with a sweet little twist. It was renovated in 1996, with the outside rendered to preserve the structure, and it was converted into a small museum sweet shop where you can buy sweets from your childhood.

Lulworth Cove Inn

The route crosses the road carefully towards the Lulworth Cove Inn, where there is a large poem by Thomas Hardy to spot. It is a handy place to pause the investigation and let any literary Detectives gather a different kind of evidence.