Post Office Cottage

Post Office Cottage is a Grade II listed building set in the heart of Worth Matravers where it was until 2008 the Post Office and General Stores.  It still retains much of the character of its past, with a red post box set in the wall, handy for your postcards.

The cottage overlooks the village green, with its picturesque duck pond, and just up the hill is the 'local' - the Square and Compass, home of annual stonecutting competitions, folk festivals and England's finest draught cider, not to mention some exceptional beers and homemade pasties.

100 metres across the village is the start of the footpath down to the old coastal quarry at Winspit, or pick another path and follow the adjacent valley down to Seacombe.  Both have flat rocks, pools and inlets into the sea, excellent for snorkelling, climbing, exploring and fishing.  If you're lucky, you might land a bass. 

To the west of the village, follow the track down to Chapman's Pool, which is a small anchorage, sheltered in all but a strong south-westerly.  Fishing huts and fossils abound, with the spectacular cliffs of Hounstout and St Aldhelm's head framing the bay.

A little further afield is the village of Kingston, known for its Scott Arms, and just beyond that is the beautifully placed ruin of Corfe Castle, in the middle of another Purbeck stone village.  From here you can catch a steam train to the seaside town of Swanage and occasionally all the way to Waterloo!  Just past Swanage is the unspoilt sandy peninsula of Studland, and the Sandbanks chain ferry to Poole and Bournemouth. 

Other nearby attractions include Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, with the striking ‘Stair Hole’ - a regular haunt of A-level geology students chipping away at the Wealden beds or measuring folded seams of Portland stone.  Kimmeridge is another fossil hunter's paradise overlooked by the Clavell Tower and majestic Swyre Head.  If the children need more excitement, there is fun and games at Lulworth Castle, or you might visit Monkey World.. where the monkeys get a good look at all the tourists.

Access

Access is by road, by car, on foot along the Dorset Coast Path, or on a number 44 bus from Swanage.  Worth Matravers is halfway between Corfe and Swanage on the Kingston road - the B3069.  Postcode for your SatNavs is BH19 3LQ.

Parking from October to April is available all day right outside the cottage.  In the summer months, you can park outside for 30 minutes only, then have to move to the village car park, just 100m away.   

Gallery

Have a stroll through our local area …..