🥾 Walking route
The Cogden Circular, Hive Beach
Dorset
- 📏 3.6 km · 2.2 mi
- ⛰ +115 m
- ⏱ 1 hr
- 🐕 On lead
Walk stats
- Distance3.6 km · 2.2 mi
- Elevation+115 m
- Duration1 hr
- DifficultyEasy
- Route typeCircular
- TerrainField paths, farm tracks and quiet lanes with a short coastal section
- Best seasonSpring to autumn
- DogsDog friendly, keep on lead near livestock
About this walk
This short circular from the village of Swyre offers a gentle taste of the Dorset coast without the crowds of its better-known neighbours. Setting out from the village, the route drops seaward through fields and quiet lanes, threading down towards the shingle sweep of Cogden Beach on the Jurassic Coast.
Along the way you skirt Burton Mere, a reed-fringed freshwater pool tucked just behind the shingle bar, a peaceful spot to pause and watch for waterbirds. From here the path climbs gently back inland, with wide views opening out along the coast towards Cliff End and the great arc of Chesil Beach stretching away to the east.
The final stretch returns you across rolling farmland to Swyre, closing the loop in around an hour. At 3.6 km with a modest 115 m of ascent, it makes an ideal leg-stretcher or a compact half-day outing paired with a visit to nearby Hive Beach.
Route map
Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap footpath data. Numbered markers are waypoints on the route; amber star markers are points of interest a short detour away.
Waypoints along the route
2 waypoints along the way
- 1
Swyre (start and finish)
- Start / finish
Start and finish of this circular route.
- 2
Burton Mere
Worth a short detour
Points of interest just off the route, look for the amber markers on the map.
Cliff End
~311 m off the route
Route & waypoint data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).