Lodmoor

Walk

From the Weymouth Park & Ride, walk back out towards the roundabout, keeping to the left hand side of the road. High up on the bank on the left is the Torpedosaur. The sculpture was commissioned by Sainsbury’s, New Look and the Council, back in 2013, to decorate the newly developing retail park of Weymouth Gateway. Three sculptures were created the following year by the artist Andy Kirkby. He asked residents of Weymouth to describe elements of the coastal town and surrounding area’s character, which he could then incorporate into the art. They were unveiled on 16 July 2014 and still remain in situ, although slightly buried at times!

The Torpedosaur recognises the discovery of the ichthyosaur skeleton at Black Ven on the Jurassic Coast, by the famed palaeontologist Mary Anning. Two other significant discoveries include one found in 2020 at Charmouth and another discovered, after the sculpture’s installation, near Kimmeridge Bay. The artwork, consisting of three ichthyosaurs, is made out of repurposed World War One torpedo shells in reference to the former Whiteheads torpedo factory in Wyke Regis.

The second sculpture, sited on the corner of Mercery Road and the B3159, is that of a wheeled golden frame topped with wings, designed to reflect the ideas of the community. The third sculpture is a bus stop between Sainsbury’s and New Look’s headquarters. Known as ‘Under the Hill’, trumpets rest on its roof relating to the music and folklore of the landscape, more specifically the Music Barrow on nearby Bincombe Hill, where fairies sing at noon. Andy Kirkby, as an advocate for accessible public art, was responsible for the creation of the Boscombe Arts Trail. Nevertheless, at a cost of £74,000, it was received slightly negatively and he was accused of installing meaningless sculpture in inappropriate locations (maybe he could be inspired by the Stourton Caundle Stile Trail!)

The bus stop ‘Under the Hill’

Turn left at the stone pillar, and curve around the sculpture, to keep the newly developed Weymouth Gateway on the right. Keep to the same tarmacked path around the football fields and then turn right on approaching the sports club. Continue straight ahead, through the boulders, and follow it around the left hand bend into the trees of Lodmoor Country Park.

Lodmoor County Park merges the natural environment of the nature reserve to the east into the leisure activities of the town to the west. It consists of a number of different entertainment venues and amenities such as a play park, a mini golf, a Sea Life Centre, a model railway and a Go Kart circuit, which has sadly closed down.

Bend to the right and continue straight ahead, between the residential gardens and the wilder landscape of the park. When the track splits, turn left, walking over the bridge and keep right, through the trees and the play park to reach the end. Enter the car park on the right and turn left to walk straight down past the Go Kart circuit, Sea Life Centre and Pirate Mini Golf to the B3155. Cross over and head straight past the houses to arrive on the shoreline of Weymouth Beach.

Weymouth Beach was made famous by King George III. who was advised to bathe in its waters for health reasons. The White Horse of Osmington was carved in his honour; however, the local rumour was that it was not received with as much gratitude as anticipated. The beach is an arc of sand lying next to the bustling coastal town, dressed in Georgian architecture and full of amenities. It was voted Number 1 in The Times and Sunday Times Best UK Beaches of 2023.

Turn left onto Greenhill Beach as it merges with Preston Beach, or keep to the higher, easier route off the shingle. Follow the large sea defence as it protects the sensitive Lodmoor Nature Reserve, as well as the important trunk road entering Weymouth, from the force of the Atlantic Ocean’s storms. Before the construction of the seawall, the road was frequently closed as shingle was tossed dangerously from the sea, sometimes burying vehicles in the process. In 1996, extra rock armour was brought in and the beach re-profiled, with further work carried out in 2016, taking into account erosion further down the coastline at Furzy Cliff. The works have proved to be successful; but constant maintenance and replenishment of the shingle is required.

Keep to the wall as you pass the boggy wetlands of Lodmoor on the left, skimming a little water outlet to the sea. Behind is a small bird hideout, which also neighbours the site of an old Toll house. Now long gone, it served the Turnpike road from Wareham. During its peak, it was recorded to have been in the ownership of the Shorey Family who also ran a horse and cart hiring service. The building was demolished in 1959 having survived centuries of battering from the Atlantic storms.

At just past half way along Preston Road, next to a blue bin, veer off the wall to the left, down a ramp and cross over the road to enter into Lodmoor Nature Reserve. To the far right rises Overcombe with the peak of Furzy Cliff topped with remains of a Roman temple. Beyond is Bowleaze Cove, once painted by John Constable as he honeymooned in neighbouring Osmington. 

Lodmoor Nature Reserve is a SSSI, covering an area of 177 acres (71.5 ha), consisting of a mixture of habitats. The saltwater environment makes it an attractive environment for a collection of rare species and is partly owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Follow the path straight through the reserve to the houses and turn left, sticking to the route alongside the road. At the end of the estate, enter into Lorton Meadow and when the path splits, turn right onto the footpath. Head through the wooden kissing gate and turn right, keeping to the field edge, gently climbing up the hill. On the left is the small woodland of the Horse Lynch Plantation, or locally known as Teddy Bear Woods. It is a 200 year old patch of woodland, managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust and dominated by towering beach trees. It gained its nickname simply from the famous nursery rhyme about teddy bears going on a picnic, despite having no relevant link other than it is a wood. The actual inspiration for the rhyme is claimed to be a small woodland near the parish church in Staplegrove, outside Taunton. In the late 1990’s it became home to a number of protesters as a proposed new relief road threatened the landscape. The road was cancelled and the woods, thankfully, still stand today.

Walk through another wooden gate in the corner, then a second on the right. Turn left in the next field, still climbing the hill, and cut through the gap in the hedge ahead. Stay on the same grassed track to the peak towards Littlemoor, not forgetting to look back at the views growing over Portland Harbour.

Drop down the other side of the hill and head though another kissing gate. Turn left to keep the newly built houses of Littlemoor on the right. Littlemoor began life as an Australian army camp developing slowly into the residential estate that stands today. However, it has absorbed its past into its road’s names including Brisbane Road and Canberra Crescent. Pass through the boulders and veer off to the left following a mown bridleway. Take the next right then left and then take the next left, heading back down the hill into the valley of Lorton Meadows.

To the right the valley rises up to Lorton House. It was built in 1858 and believed to have been designed by John Hicks with his young apprentice Thomas Hardy in tow. It is also claimed that it was constructed by Hardy’s father (also called Thomas). The house has managed to retain many of its original features including servants’ bells and has even kept the same family for nearly a century.

Head though another gate and down the hill into the valley in the same direction, keeping the hedge on the left. Pass through a metal gate at the bottom, where a number of paths converge and continue straight ahead climbing up into the woodland of Two Mile Copse. Just as you meet the busy A35’s bridge, neighbouring the railway bridge, just visible through the arch, and turn sharply left to follow the embankment back to the park and ride and your vehicle.