Why is swanage attractive to tourists

Food and Drink Enjoy a meal or drink in one of the many Restaurants and Cafes. Where is Swanage? The town is accessible via road or train from Wareham or across the Sandbanks Ferry from Poole. Featured Places to Stay. Sunny Bay House Swanage. Dorset Cottage Holidays Swanage. Angela's Bed and Breakfast Swanage. Isla View Swanage. Alisande Cottage Swanage. Swanage Auberge Swanage. Swanage Holiday Properties Ltd Swanage.

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There are also various options nearby for exploring Old Harry Rocks via kayak and horseback. There are also echos of the past — both man-made and natural — here, with a World War II pillbox on the beach itself and easy access to observation bunker Fort Henry, next to the unique red and yellow-coloured sandstone of the cliffs.

This family-friendly beach has attracted both visitors and locals alike for many years — in fact, it used to be home to an annual August regatta where […]. You can walk to Clavell Tower from Kimmeridge or via the South West Coast path — and you can even stay in it for a truly unique visit to Purbeck.

Built in , Clavell Tower was initially used as a folly and observatory. Its unique position and captivating design has drawn visitors for generations and has been an inspiration to authors such as Thomas Hardy and PD James.

History of the tower Clavell Tower sits above the 1, acre Smedmore Estate, which comprises much of Kimmeridge village and the beautiful, Grade II-listed manor Smedmore House, and has been in the same family since the s. In , the then owner of Smedmore House — the Reverend John Richards Clavell — commissioned his Clavell Tower folly to be built and primarily served as an observatory.

It is also believed that it then became used as a navigation aid for smugglers who frequented the waters around the Jurassic Coast, and by sailors coming in to land. Literary inspiration In the early s, Clavell Tower was used by coastguards until […]. While a week spending time in Swanage can easily keep a family entertained, there are many more activities and places to discover.

Make Swanage your base to explore the hidden gems of the Isle of Purbeck. Standing watch over the village of the same name, Corfe Castle is an iconic and striking ruin, synonymous with the Isle of Purbeck. Explore the history hidden in the walls of this famous castle ruin that is over a thousand years old and has survived sieges, treachery and conspiracy. Learn how various future kings adapted and upgraded Corfe Castle to suit their defence as well as interior design requirements, and walk the path where the revered young King Edward the Martyr fled after being stabbed in the back by a servant on the order of his […].

A hidden historical gem in the heart of Purbeck, this is a truly local museum. Grab a snack from the refreshments hut located just by the car park and let the kids reimagine the railways of the past at the play area outside the museum, complete with train-themed climbing frames and equipment.

You might also be interested in the Swanage Railway Museum, just down the road at Corfe Castle station, where the mining museum looks after the locomotive Secundus housed there. History The mining of clay was an important industry in Purbeck as far back as the s […].

There are various walking routes to Old Harry Rocks from both Swanage and Studland, each offering breathtaking views of this unique rock formation.

They were once part of a chalk ridge that connected to The Needles on the Isle of Wight. On a clear day you can stand up on the cliff and see across to The Needles — three chalk stacks, similar to Old Harry Rocks, which rise from the sea off the island twenty miles away. The gap between this […]. Home to the Anvil Point Lighthouse, built in the s, the headland of Anvil Point is just one location for stunning seascapes and excellent walking within Durlston Country Park.

Comprising part of the Jurassic Coast and the Isle of Purbeck, Anvil Point makes for an interesting explore and a fantastic spot for a quiet picnic overlooking uninterrupted sea views. The lighthouse The lighthouse at Anvil Point serves as a navigation aid and waypoint for vessels passing along the English Channel and was installed following a number of shipwrecks here.

It became fully automated in and its light, which flashes every ten seconds with its rotating lens, reaches nine nautical miles out to sea. The original light would have been a paraffin burner. The twelve-metre-tall lighthouse was built in from locally-quarried stone stands 45m above sea level.

It used to have a fog signal — a small cannon — that sounded every five minutes in low-visibility weather conditions, however this was discontinued in the s. The lighthouse at Durlston is not accessible to the general public, although you can stay in its cottages, which have been converted into two holiday homes.