Swanage in the Isle of Purbeck

Swanage

A charming seaside town on the Jurassic Coast

At the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast, on the Isle of Purbeck, Swanage is a Victorian seaside town full of character, the lively, welcoming hub of the whole Purbeck peninsula.

Wrapped around a sheltered, south-east-facing bay between two headlands, Swanage grew from a small fishing and stone-shipping village into one of the south coast's most-loved resorts. It offers an irresistible blend of the things that make an English seaside holiday: a clean, gently shelving sandy beach, a traditional pier, ice creams and fish-and-chips, set against a backdrop of dramatic cliffs, rolling downland and big sea views. The whole town sits within the Dorset National Landscape, and its coast forms the start of the 95-mile Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

Yet Swanage is far more than a beach. Beneath the seaside charm runs a remarkable history, a Saxon battle, centuries of quarrying, and a Victorian transformation led by two local men who quite literally rebuilt the town with pieces of old London. It also makes the perfect base for exploring Purbeck, with Corfe Castle, Studland, Old Harry Rocks and Durlston all on the doorstep.

From the Saxons onward

A town built on stone

People have lived around Swanage since prehistory, but the town first enters written history in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 877, which records a great disaster for a Danish fleet off the coast here, around 120 ships lost to storm or fog in Swanage Bay during King Alfred's wars against the Vikings. A column on the seafront, topped with cannonballs, commemorates the battle. Over the centuries the town was known by names such as Swanawic and Swanwich before settling on Swanage.

For most of its history, though, Swanage meant one thing: stone. Purbeck limestone and the prized Purbeck "Marble" have been quarried here since Roman times, and from the 12th century the trade boomed, supplying stone for cathedrals and churches across the land. Demand surged again after the Great Fire of London in 1666. For generations, blocks were stacked on the seafront "bankers," loaded onto carts hauled into the shallows, and rowed out to waiting ships, a working stone-port, not yet a resort.

This humble industry would, in the 19th century, give rise to one of the most unusual transformations of any English town.

The Victorian resort

The pier & the steam railway

Two great Victorian arrivals turned Swanage from stone-port to seaside resort. The railway reached the town in 1885, when a branch line from Wareham via Corfe Castle finally opened after decades of campaigning, encouraged by George Burt, bringing day-trippers and holidaymakers within easy reach of the sea. The stone "bankers" on the seafront were swept away, new shops and villas rose, and the modern resort was born.

Swanage actually has had two piers. The first, a stone-shipping pier with a horse-drawn tramway, opened around 1859; its weathered timber stumps can still be seen in the bay. The elegant pleasure pier that visitors enjoy today opened in 1896, built for the paddle steamers that once disgorged thousands of trippers. Lovingly restored by a dedicated trust, it is now a beautiful spot for a stroll, a spot of fishing, or a boat trip, and a popular launch point for divers.

The branch line closed in 1972 but was painstakingly rebuilt by volunteers, and today the heritage Swanage Railway runs steam and heritage diesel trains through the glorious Purbeck countryside to Corfe Castle and Norden, a nostalgic journey that's an attraction in its own right.

Travel

How do I get to Swanage?

By car it's about a 25-minute drive from Wareham; regular buses run from Wareham and Poole; and you can even arrive in style by steam train on the Swanage Railway from Corfe Castle and Norden. The Sandbanks chain ferry links Swanage to Bournemouth and Poole.