Jewels of the Jurassic Coast Walk

Arrive in Weymouth and take a taxi (5 mins, payable locally) to your hotel close to the town's splendid Georgian Esplanade. Stroll the amazing sands and visit the bustling 17th century harbour. You stay at the Hotel Rembrandt for the next two nights (breakfast included).

Take the bus (payable locally) to Portland and from the Olympic Rings walk past the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy, and along Chesil Beach back to Weymouth. For a longer walk take the bus (payable locally, operates high season only) to Portland Bill where you start your walk along the South West Coast Path before joining the shorter route along Chesil beach (B).

Take a short (11 mins) bus transfer to join one of the most scenic sections of the magnificent 630-mile long South West Coast Path. With the dramatic white chalk cliffs as your backdrop, you follow the classic smugglers' route down to picturesque Osmington where the aptly named 13th century Smugglers' Inn does great coffee! A short climb to the top of Burning Cliff is rewarded with the most fabulous views of the fossil-filled Jurassic Coast before continuing on to Durdle Door - one of the most photographed rock arches in the world.

Today's final stretch hugs the coast down into gorgeous Lulworth Cove - a great place for lunch, a swim or a journey back through 185 million years of history at the renowned Heritage Centre. A pre-arranged taxi will collect you for the 20-minute journey to Corfe, described as one of the most beautiful villages in England, where you stay overnight. You stay at Olivers (breakfast included) (B).

Built by William the Conqueror and destroyed by Cromwell's vengeful troops during the Civil War, the dramatic ruins of Corfe Castle - now a National Trust property and the setting for several historical feature films - stand at the gateway to the Isle of Purbeck and its surrounding hills. We've deliberately kept today's walk short to enable you to explore at leisure before setting out on the panoramic ridge high above the village. It's a journey of diverse natural beauty - with Poole Harbour and Bournemouth to your left, the rolling Purbeck Hills to your right and the Isle of Wight clearly visible in the distance - as you follow the pretty Purbeck Way into Swanage, a small Victorian seaside town with a stunning semi-circular bay. You spend three nights at the family-run The Limes, close to the town centre and just a few minutes' walk from the beach (B).

We strongly recommend a circular walk today to Durlston Country Park, a magnificent 280-acre nature reserve of sea-cliffs, downs, meadows, hedgerows and woods. With 250+ bird species, 500+ moths and 33 species of breeding butterfly, few places in the country have the same ornithological appeal as Durlston and, from March to July, hidden deep in the cliffs are sea birds, swifts and swallows. The recently restored Victorian castle boasts a fully interactive Visitor Centre, restaurant and panoramic roof terrace (B).

Today's magnificent coastal path hugs Swanage Bay as you climb gently out of the town and up to the famous white chalk sea stacks, Old Harry Rocks. As you continue towards the tiny Purbeck village of Studland, you'll pass 'Dragon's Teeth' tank traps and Fort Henry - a concrete observation bunker built in 1943 and used by Churchill, Eisenhower and King George VI to watch the rehearsals for D-Day. From the gorgeous white sands of Studland take the bus (payable locally) back to Swanage for your final night (B).

Leave Swanage after breakfast (B).