Days Out: Golden Cap

Making the most of our last few days off together for a while, we decided to don the coats and wellies and head off for an afternoon stroll on the Golden Cap Estate. Golden Cap is managed by the National Trust and features part of the Jurassic coastline – a stretch of shoreline that got it’s name from the large amount of fossils found here. You’ve probably heard of Lyme Regis, a seaside town thats less than 5 minutes from the estate itself.

Golden Cap gets it’s name from the golden colour of the cliff-face. It’s the highest point on the southern coast and part of the UK’s only natural World Heritage Site. The estate is basically a huge expanse of cliff top that can be walked via various different paths. It’s worth a visit if you want to do some coastal walking with stunning views! Whilst we’ve visited a few of the routes before, we decided it was time for a new adventure so we took ourselves to Langdon Hill.

Langdon Hill is a wood-based walk; it’s not the easiest to find but once you locate the car park, it’s easy. It’s a circular route skirting around the edge of the woods and heading out towards the coast and then back in. Along the way you get stunning views all along the coastline. Especially if you head there at sunset like we did.

The walk was freezing but dog and baby friendly. If we’d wanted to, we could have managed it with the three-wheeler buggy due to the large and relatively flat path but we tend to use the carrier for walks like this. At that time of day, the light was perfect. That’s the best thing about walking in the winter, if you get the timing right, it’s beautiful.

The walk takes about 40 minutes at a relatively slow pace and has a number of rest-stops and benches along the way, particularly at designated viewpoints. It took us longer because we made the most of the final bits of winter sun and attempted to take some dodgy family photos. It’s a beautiful background and perfect for an afternoon out away from the tourists if you happen to be near the Jurassic Coast and Golden Cap. It’s also only 10 minutes from West Bay – the filming site of Broadchurch! Why not combine the walk with lunch at the beach in Lyme and a wander round a real life film set?