It was a 2 mile walk down from our hotel to rejoin the Path at the trail shown above. This is a new way up the Houns Tout hill as the previous path fell into the sea during a land slip in November 2023. Just opening in March, this path isn’t as steep a climb as the previous iteration but still a good warm up for the day.

And what goes up must come down, then up, and so on! It was turning out to be another perfect day for hiking: cool breeze, light cloud cover, and the rain that’s coming held off for another day.

More evidence of recent landslips, this area loses about a meter of land a year into the sea a local in town told me. It’s especially dangerous after recent rainfalls and we saw many sections where the ground was ominously cracking…I stuck close to the fence!

By 6 miles we were heading down into Kimmeridge Bay and completing our section of the SWCP.

A nice trek inland along a pretty country road brought us into Kimmeridge where lunch and a visit to a Fossil Museum provided a nice break.

Difficulties in finding accommodation locally meant we were only 1/2 way through our day – we had to return to Kingston for the night. To make it a loop walk we took the Hardy Way which was a high level route with wonderful views of the coastal path far below…

but it also meant another 2 miles on the road! Not my favorite walking surface at the end of a long day but needs must!