The Smuggler's Tale
All the fun of the seaside.. and more!
The Smuggler’s Tale is an inn to inn walking trail best enjoyed over 4 or 5 nights.
With stunning views and scenery this Foot Trail explores the coast to the east and west of Bridport, an historic market town and rope making centre.
In the 18th century smuggling was rife, Chesil beach being the perfect place to land small boats and the landscape ideal for a quick getaway.
Walking the Jurassic Coast
Walk through spectacular views and scenery on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, England’s first natural world heritage site. Its stunning coastline boasts rocks recording 185 million years of the earth’s history and this incredible geology is of global importance.
Your Foot Trail starts with a beachside stay and walks that hug the coast, venturing to the beauty of Abbotsbury, and one of the best views in South West England. Old hill forts tell of earlier times, and the barrier beach of Chesil sweeps below.
Your journey concludes exploring the coast to the west of Bridport with a stay beneath the iconic ‘Golden Cap’ the South Coast’s highest sea cliff. Notorious for smuggling, there’s tales to tell. Explore the beach and the sound of the waves as dusk falls, and everyone else has gone home!
Your coastal hikes weave amongst landscape, villages and coast to give you views, history, as well as beach walks, all without samey feel of the main coast path.
Read more about our food & accommodation here.
Ready to start your adventure?
How to get here
The Smuggler’s Tale is in Dorset, South West of England. The Jurassic Coast in on the southern coast, bordering Devon to the west, and Hampshire to the east.
The nearest train station for arrivals is at Crewkerne, or Weymouth, in Dorset, the journey time approximately 3 hours from London Waterloo.
By car the journey time is about 3½ hours from London.
The suggested international airport is London Heathrow, which offers onward journey connections to the train network. There is also a regional airport at Southampton with a direct train link to Weymouth.
Airport cars often make the most convenient transfer and we can arrange this for you.
Trail highlights include:
- Enjoy panoramas over a natural world heritage site, The Jurassic Coast
- Explore historic Abbotsbury with it’s iconic chapel on the hill
- Tales of 6000 years of human activity from the Neolithic, to Celts, Romans & Vikings
- Discover tales of the smugglers who had a thriving industry on Dorset’s coast
- Stand atop the highest sea cliff on the south coast, ‘Golden Cap’
- Be inspired by The Fleet – England’s largest tidal inland pool with its amazing wildlife
- Enjoy pretty Dorset thatched cottages & villages
- Discover Thomas Hardy’s ‘Port Bredy’ and scenes from the TV series ‘Broadchurch’
- Stay within a stone’s throw of the sea (to enjoy when everyone else has gone home!)
Walking
We are passionate about the experience of walking, the sense of journey, and the wellbeing from time spent outside. Wandering the landscape at 2mph allows time to observe the world around us, connect with nature, and to slow down.
We have a range of trails from 8 to 12 miles. When we curate your itinerary we can customise your daily walks.
We advise that our guests should feel comfortable walking 8 miles a day, to get the most from your trip. To us, it’s nice to feel like you have done something, the sense of achievement, but not so much that the thought of another day is off putting.
To help you find your way we provide local maps and word directions on our trail cards, tried and tested, by our team and Volunteer Trail Guides.
Included in your Foot Trail
- Tailored and crafted Walk and Explore Box with everything you need
- Local Ordnance Survey™ map exerts (waterproof) with your trails annotated
Trail guide cards (waterproof one for each day with easy to follow wording - Foot Trails expertise and experience, working with our Trail Consultants to custom made your trip to suit you and the English season instructions)
- Local stories and histories
- Recommended lunchtime stops at country pubs and cafes
- Nature cards for identifying wild flowers, trees and animals
- Seasonal nature guide book
- Sweets (for a boost on route)
- Your en-suite accommodation
- Breakfasts
- One bottle of wine
- Two decades of expertise and know-how
- Inn to Inn luggage transfers with our trusted driver team
- Drop off services when it makes for a better walk
Example Pricing
Everything about your Foot Trail is deliberate, chosen with care and intent for you. Therefore each trip is quoted individually, and will vary from the example pricing below.
A 4 night The Smuggler’s Tale itinerary starts from £1020 per person (based on 2 people sharing a room).
How to book
When you get in touch we will take a little time to find out more from you about the experience you would like, the things you enjoy and your travel plans. We then use our passion, experience and local knowledge to craft a daily itinerary for you.
You will receive a full daily itinerary and details of all your accommodations before you book. Once you are happy with your itinerary you simply confirm with your deposit and we will look after everything for you.
Get in touch to start your consultation – contact us
Like to find out more?
To find out more and request an example itinerary for one of our trails, just pop your details in below. We look forward to hearing from you.
