Restricted Access

The climbing on Stair Hole, Dungy Head and Durdle Door all fall within an area of land mapped as Open Access under CRoW. Climbing is a permitted activity under the CRoW legislation so there is a legal right of access to all three areas for climbers, walkers and members of the public.

A climbers code of conduct has been developed to help address concerns about conflict between climbers, members of the public and nesting birds - please follow the guidelines closely. Please take a discrete approach to climbing in the area which periodically attracts negative attention through tombstoning and the resulting injuries and rescues. Climbing and DWS are clearly different and permitted here, but can be caught up in media stories about tombstoning, so make an effort to keep a low profile so as not to encourage members of the public to have a go.

For safety reasons, there is no public access to the military ranges east of Lulworth Cove (which are used for live firing), other than on days when the ranges are open due to firing not taking place and even then only the marked path can be used. This means that no climbing can be accessed within the ranges at any time as it would necessitate walking off of the marked path.

Seasonal Restrictions

Reason: Nesting Birds

Protected birds have been known to nest on crags in the area (in particular Dungy Head) in the past. Please observe any on site signage regarding restrictions if the birds do return.