Until we moved to Dorset and began exploring the Jurassic Coast in earnest, I’d never heard of Mupe Bay. It’s not even that easy to say: N’s brother heard Muke then Meat(!) Bay the first time we offered to take him there. But it has become, without contest, our favourite beach in Dorset. Viewed from the heights of the coast path above, it looks like a little slice of the Med. The water is sometimes a startling shade of turquoise, thanks to the chalky cliffs, and it is a wonderful and inviting place to swim.

[An aside here: it was at Mupe that our love of year-round sea swimming began.  We’d walked there on a sunny but decidedly brisk New Year’s Day, wrapped up in down jacket, gloves and hat, only to be made to feel like utter wimps by at least three people, a good 30 years older than us, gleefully swimming out into the bay with not a whiff of a wetsuit between them. We decided there and then to challenge ourselves to do the same the following New Year’s Day … and we did! Yes, we were wearing wetsuits and yes, we’d practised a lot in the intervening 12 months, gradually getting ourselves acclimatised to the exhilarating ‘freshness’ of Britain’s coastal waters, but it still felt like something of an achievement. Since then, we go wild swimming (or just ‘swimming’, as it used to be called before everything got fancy) at every opportunity, in the coldest of water and without wetsuits these days. It is extraordinarily life-affirming, as long as you keep moving and ignore the numbness!]

I’ve written about the walk to Mupe for This is Your Kingdom (a real treasure-trove of insider tips on exploring the UK), in which I roughly explain our preferred route and wax lyrical somewhat about skylarks and generally how darn pretty it is. If you don’t fancy the steep walk from West Lulworth up and over Bindon Hill, you can take the lower route by walking along the beach at Lulworth Cove, tide permitting, taking the wooden steps up and then following the path past the fossil forest (not accessible at the moment but still visible from the path) and round the edge of the coast for a couple of miles until you reach the concrete steps that take you down to Mupe Bay.

It really is a rewarding walk at any time of year, especially if you’re seeking some respite from the crowds at Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, but it becomes all kinds of magical in summer, when the wild sweet peas greet you as you descend the steps to the bay. Just one thing: do check that the range walks are open before you set off. The area is part of the AFV Gunnery School and closed for firing practice fairly frequently throughout the year, although rarely at weekends. We’ve been caught out by this more than once and it’s mighty frustrating when you’ve packed your swimmers and snorkel.

Need to know
OS Map: OL15 Explorer map of Purbeck and South Dorset
Parking: If you get to West Lulworth early enough you should be able to find free on-street parking in the road by the church. Otherwise, you can use the car park at the visitor centre on the way down to the cove itself but be warned, it’s quite expensive for a full day’s parking.
Refreshments: There are no facilities at all at Mupe so take plenty of water and food. Hambury Stores in West Lulworth is the convenience store of dreams (well, my dreams anyway) as it sells everything from groceries to homemade cakes to body boards) and is a great place to stock up on picnic supplies. Needless to say, Lulworth Cove is heaving with places to eat.
Public transport: It is possible to reach Lulworth via public transport. More details here.
Further info: South West Coast Path website