Ringstead – Coast, Paths and History

Ringstead combines coastal scenery with an unusually diverse range of historical traces. Ringstead Bay can be reached via the A353 through the village of Upton. There, a pebble beach, paths along the cliffs and the history of Burning Cliff come together. Those planning a trip around different interests can therefore choose between coastal walking, geological observation and cultural-historical discovery in Ringstead.

Coast and paths around Ringstead Bay

The South West Coast Path passes through Ringstead Bay on the route from Ferrybridge to Lulworth Cove. For orientation, a route is also described that runs from the car park along the top of the cliffs to Burning Cliff and onwards to White Nothe. Ringstead Bay itself has a pebble beach reached via steep old paths. This information can help you clearly determine your preferred focus when choosing your holiday apartment: do you mainly want to experience coastal paths and scenery, or should the trip focus more strongly on historic places in the surrounding area?

Another option is the walk from Ringstead along the beach to the first section of the White Nothe landslide and back. The walk is considered relatively easy. The same walk is also suitable for detailed geological studies. This places two different ways of viewing the same landscape side by side: you can plan the route as a seaside excursion or engage more intensively with the geological formations.

Burning Cliff lies above Ringstead Bay. The combination of oil shale and iron pyrites once caused a fire there. At the top of Burning Cliff stands St Catherine by the Sea, a small wooden church. It can be reached from the National Trust car park at Ringstead Bay via a path approximately half a mile long, which takes around 15 minutes and leads down the slope. The Benefice Good Friday Walk ends at St Catherine by the Sea. Anyone interested in religious sites and distinctive coastal locations will find an individual point of interest here within the landscape experience.

Historical Traces in Ringstead

Away from the coast, Ringstead also displays several different periods. RAF Ringstead was established in 1941 as a Chain Home radar station. The surviving components of the former station include two transmitter blocks, two receiver blocks, two bases of receiver towers, a substation and a standby equipment hut. The site's former function makes the local history particularly vivid, without restricting it to a single historical period.

Ringstead Ice House has a square flint chamber with sides measuring 3 metres. It lies beneath a mound of earth, stone and turf measuring 9 by 12 metres and 1.5 metres high. The Ice House at Ringstead is also described as a post-medieval structure on an artificially cut terrace. Further traces include the medieval Ringstead fishpond, preserved as a depression approximately 0.5 metres deep and 28 metres in diameter, as well as the Ringstead Deserted Medieval Village with house platforms and hollow ways. The earthworks of West Ringstead extend across approximately 5 hectares.

Ringstead Old Church completes this picture. The surviving masonry appears to date from the 13th century; a church at this site is first mentioned in 1227. Glebe Cottage, by contrast, is a former church that was converted into a dwelling. Among other features, the chancel arch has survived there. Such differences between surviving complexes, former religious buildings and structures later converted for other uses provide your trip planning with various cultural focal points.

The Right Holiday Apartment for Your Trip Planning

When looking for a holiday apartment in Ringstead, you can first decide which experiences should define your stay. For coastal paths and the landscape of Ringstead Bay, the beach, cliffs, Burning Cliff and the South West Coast Path are the main attractions. For travellers interested in cultural history, the former complexes, earthworks, church remains and RAF heritage provide points of reference instead. This allows you to align your choice of accommodation with your personal travel theme without reducing Ringstead's different facets to a single activity.

Further local pages for planning your own trip: West Moors, Shaftesbury, Horton, Minchington, West Bay, Thorncombe, Winkton and Sherborne.

For the higher-level travel overview: Dorset.