Swanage

For details of places to stay and things to do in Swanage, please try the links on the left.

FOR those wishing to stay in Swanage there is a wide range of holiday accommodation from which to choose: hotels, guest houses, holiday parks and self-catering establishments offer accommodation to suit all budgets and tastes.

Nestling at the foot of the Purbeck Hills, Swanage sits at the eastern end of the Purbeck Peninsula.

One of the town's main attractions is the gently shelving, golden sandy beach and clear unpolluted water, which has won the European Blue Flag Award many times, as well as the Encams Tidy Britain Seaside Award. Swanage Bay is popular as a water sports centre, where you can sail and windsurf or learn to scuba-dive and water-ski. Coastal pleasure cruises daily in season from the Stone Quay and the newly restored Pier.

With World Heritage status this unique stretch of the coastline has joined the ranks of the Great Barrier Reef and Grand Canyon as one of the wonders of the natural world. On the clifftops lies Durlston Country Park's 263 acres of delightful countryside. The park is perfect for walking, picnics or just relaxing and lucky visitors may even see the dolphins swimming in Durlston Bay.

Inland from the beach and cliff Swanage has places to visit and sights to see. Hire a bike and enjoy the Purbeck Cycleway or visit the Beach Gardens Sports Park, where there are all-weather tennis courts, outdoor bowls rink and an 18-hole putting course. The Vista Complex at the Swanage Bay View Holiday Park is a family entertainment centre boasting a heated indoor swimming pool, skittle alley, indoor bowls and trimnasium.

The renowned spring-fed Mill Pond, with a Mill House boasting a superb date stone of 1734, is thought to be the most photographed part of the town. The history of Swanage is fairly typical of many coastal towns that once relied on fishing and stone export. Barges taking the stone to London returned with unusual gifts from local benefactors. The Wellington Clock Tower, once on London Bridge, is now erected close to the Lifeboat House. The frontage of the Town Hall was once the Mercers Hall in London.

Swanage was also briefly the home of Thomas Hardy and his first wife Emma, and we not even begun to tell you about its many connections with Enid Blyton! There is so much to discover in and around Swanage that you will want to come back again and again.

NEARBY VILLAGES

Langton Matravers - Village built mainly from Purbeck stone. Putlake Adventure Farm, family attraction. Local history museum.

Studland - Long beaches (part naturist) which form part of the Studland National Nature Reserve.