Stone Steps to the WWII Bunker Viewing Platform Ref: VS2679

Stone Steps to the WWII Bunker Viewing Platform

A winding path of lichen-covered stone steps, edged by a low dry-stone wall, climbs the grassy bank towards the Second World War bunker on Sandpit Field in the heart of Swanage. 

At the top, a short flight of stone steps leads onto the bunker’s flat concrete roof, which for years served as a railed viewing platform looking out over Swanage Bay and the beach below with the Purbeck Hills and Ballard Down in the distance. On a clear day the Isle of Wight is visible in the distance. 

The calm sea and open sky make this one of the best views on the seafront, but deep cracks in the whitewashed walls and the temporary fencing now blocking the route show that the structure is no longer safe.

With demolition planned as part of the wider seafront project, this photo captures the familiar climb to a lookout that many in Swanage will remember.

Inside the Sandpit Field WWII Bunker Shelter Procession in Court Hill 1904