Dorset Double - Saturday MTB Ride

Off Road MTB ride on the Isle of Purbeck

Corfe Castle – Kimmeridge Bay – Square & Compass Loop

This ride packs a huge amount of variety into a short distance, with constant changes in terrain driven by Purbeck’s famously complex geology.

Start: Corfe Castle
You roll out beneath the ruins of Corfe Castle, riding through the Corfe Gap, a natural break in the Purbeck Hills. The track here is generally firm and grassy, threading between pasture fields and hedgerows. Chalk underfoot gives decent grip in the dry, but can be slick after rain. The castle looms above you as you begin the gradual climb south, with the land closing in on either side.

Climb onto the Purbeck Hills
As you leave the village, the route rises onto the chalk downland of the Purbeck Ridge. This is classic open riding: wide bridleways, short turf, and big skies. Sheep-grazed slopes keep the trails fast and flowing, with dry valleys cutting across the hills. There’s little shelter up here, and on a windy day you really feel how exposed this ridge is. Views open out toward the coast as you crest the hills.

Descent toward Kimmeridge
Dropping south, the terrain changes noticeably. The chalk gives way to darker soils as you descend toward Kimmeridge Bay. Tracks become rougher and more rutted, especially after wet weather. The final approach runs above low, unstable cliffs, where erosion is obvious and the land feels raw and unfinished.

Kimmeridge Bay
At sea level, the ride briefly flattens out along the edge of Kimmeridge’s wave-cut rock platform. The surface here is hard and uneven, with slabs of oil shale and clay exposed at low tide. It’s a stark, dramatic place—low cliffs, dark rock, crashing waves—and a complete contrast to the soft chalk hills you’ve just crossed.

Climb Inland toward Worth Matravers
Leaving the coast, the route climbs sharply back inland. This is one of the tougher sections: steeper gradients, looser stone, and thin soils over Purbeck limestone. As you top out, the landscape opens into a limestone plateau, with large fields divided by dry-stone walls instead of hedges. Old quarry workings sit quietly beside the track, reminders of how long this land has been worked.

The Square and Compass
Rolling lanes and stony bridleways lead you into Worth Matravers, where the Square and Compass sits solidly in the limestone landscape. Stone walls, tight lanes, and wind-shaped fields give this section a rugged, timeless feel—and it’s an ideal pause point before the final leg returning to Corfe Castle and the campsite.

15 - 20 miles at a leisurely pace enjoying the vast scenic views. 

The route

Ideal for most mountain bike riders. You will need good physical fitness and be able to ride up to 20 miles. 

E-bikes are welcome, but expect to pause occasionally while non-assisted riders tackle the tougher climbs under their own steam.

BE WARNED! - There will be some hills.

Ride highlights:

• Corfe Common
• Corfe Castle
• Kimmeride Bay
• Creech Grange Arch
• Swyre Head
• The Square & Compass

"Dorset Double" - events over the bank holiday weekend 

Saturday:

• MTB Bike Ride
• Dorset Double Walk, Day 1: Kimmeridge Ledges and Chapman's Pool

Sunday:

• Dorset Double Walk, Day 2: St Aldhelm's Head and Dancing Ledge

Acommodation

If doing both days or want to make a long weekend of the trip to the Isle of Purbeck, you might like to stay at a campsite, hostel or B&B nearby, there are lots of options locally. You’ll need to make your own arrangements, but you are welcome to stay at the same place as the event leaders who will be staying at Woodyhyde Campsite.