Travel, Accommodation, and the Best of Purbeck
While you're in town, we want to share some of our favorite places with you.
Transport Advice
1 / General
Remember that the Isle of Purbeck is a popular holiday and weekend destination. As a general rule, try and avoid travelling here on a Friday afternoon - especially if you're travelling from the London area. If you can, aim to be here by early to mid-afternoon on the Friday (which will also mean you can join us at the beach, weather permitting...)
2 / By Car
Purbeck is around 2.5 hrs drive from London. From most places, Sat-Navs will direct you via Wareham, and around the western edge of Poole harbour. The connoisseur's route, but only if you're travelling off-peak(!), is to take the chain ferry from Sandbanks (some of the most expensive real estate in the UK - and famously home to Harry Redknapp) to Shell Bay.
3 / Rail
Wareham is the nearest mainline railway station, which is on a direct line from London Waterloo, Winchester, Southampton Airport. Southampton, Bournemouth, and Poole. You can take a (pre-ordered) taxi from there - or there are regular (hourly) direct buses (#40) to Corfe, Kingston, Langton, and Swanage.
There are also direct trains from the Midlands and North-West to Bournemouth, from where it is a short train ride to Wareham (or an open-top bus ride direct to Swanage...)
4 / Air
Southampton Airport is the most convenient, with a direct train service to Wareham. Bournemouth Airport is the closest.
London Heathrow and Gatwick are both around 2hr 45 min - 3 hr drive from Purbeck.
Where to Stay
Our strong advice: book early. This is a very popular holiday destination.
Below are six of the best hotels, a nearby pub, and a great local campsite. Contact us directly if you are interested in one of the rooms we have reserved.
It’s also worth thinking about the many Airbnbs and holiday rentals (e.g. through vrbo), especially if you're coming with friends and family.
Kingston Country Courtyard
This is our venue - so couldn't be more convenient for getting to bed after the party! We have a number of rooms available, including accessible and family rooms, for the Saturday night only.
If you're interested in any of these rooms, please let us know directly.
The Pig at the Beach
The local outpost of The Pig chain - boutique rooms with an excellent restaurant and spa treatments available, in an idyllic setting in the quiet village of Studland. Walking distance from the area's best beaches, and with direct access to the South West Coast Path.
Mortons Manor
Small, boutique hotel and restaurant in the centre of Corfe Castle village. Five minutes drive from the venue.
We have a limited number of double rooms reserved here for the Friday AND Saturday nights.
If you're interested in any of these rooms, please let us know directly.
The Pines Hotel
Seafront hotel in Swanage, about 10 mins walk from the main restaurants and cafes.
Knoll House Hotel
Family-friendly hotel overlooking Studland Bay - with restaurant, outdoor pool etc.
Tom's Field Campsite
Reputedly the best local campsite, Tom's Field is relatively small and sheltered, with good facilities; about 5 mins walk from our house in Langton Matravers, and 5 mins drive from the venue.
Where to Eat
Restaurants and cafes we'd recommend
Shell Bay
Excellent fish and seafood in a water-front setting with panoramic views overlooking Poole harbour. Shell Bay features in the Michelin Guide; visit in the evening for sunsets over Poole Harbour. Located at the end-point of the South West Coast Path.
The Pig at the Beach
Great restaurant in the eponymous hotel, in Studland. The emphasis - as with all Pigs - is on local produce, and a 25-mile menu which is designed around local suppliers and their own kitchen garden.
The Narrows
First-rate neighbourhood restaurant in the heart of Swanage, which opened just after we moved here. Modern European food - with an emphasis on small plates and sharing for starters. Always check the specials... Reliably good!
Coastal Crust Pizza
Some of the best pizza we've had! Don't let the location on a small industrial estate put you off - this is a local business that has just taken its first steps from a food truck to a permanent home. Superb.
Takeaway/collection also available.
The Salt Pig Too
A butchers/deli/casual restaurant in central Swanage which also now owns several off-shoots in the local area. Meat is, as you might expect, a particular strength (as are the Sunday roasts). Also check out the original Salt Pig in Wareham.
Website currently unavailable
The Sandy Salt Pig
One of the best local offshoots of The Salt Pig - this one is an open air cafe above Studland's Middle Beach, housed in a converted shipping container. Some of the best burgers and chips in the region - and views to die for across Studland Bay to Old Harry's Rocks, the Isle of Wight, and Bournemouth.
Website currently unavailable
Love Cake Cafe
Stunning cakes and sweet treats, Love Cake also pulls off a pretty impressive breakfast/brunch and some savoury lunches. But, seriously, the cake steals the show...
The 1859 Pier Cafe
Casual cafe situated at the beginning of Swanage's Victorian Pier. Given it's location, the emphasis is on fish and seafood. The daily menu is very cafe-style - but the evenings tend to bring some very good, well-made 'specials'.
Smoke on the Water
Newish smokehouse/BBQ pit-style casual restaurant on the waterfront. If you like beer and meat...
Once You're Here...
Want to see the best that the Isle of Purbeck offers? Check out some of our favourite places below...
Dancing Ledge - and the South West Coast Path
Stunning coastal walks - including to the famous Dancing Ledge, near Langton. The South West Coast Path starts/ends at Shell Bay - and it's a wonderful 14 mile hike to Worth Matravers, near the venue. (And only another 616 miles from there, round Cornwall, to the other end...)
Studland Beach
These are the best local beaches - and among the best in the country. National Trust-owned Knoll Beach is the pick (pictured): sandy, great for swimming, and with good facilities. This will be the location for our beach picnic, the beach sauna and swim, and yoga in the dunes!
Middle Beach is also very good (and handy for The Sandy Salt Pig burgers).
Swanage Steam Railway
Historic railway maintained and operated by volunteers, and which runs from Swanage to Norden, near Corfe, through the Purbeck countryside. The steam trains are the main draw, but they also now look after several diesel trains too.
RSPB Arne
Nature reserve home to deer and extensive birdlife, especially wading birds - encompassing parts of Poole Harbour, heathland and woodland. Has been the filming location for the BBC's Spring Watch in 2023 and 2024. It also forms part of the larger Purbeck Heaths National Nature Reserve, home to all 6 of the UK's native reptiles. Great for walks and (obviously!) bird-watching.
Corfe Castle
Yep, we've got a castle - around 1000 years old, and one of the last Royalist hold-outs in the English Civil War. National Trust owned and managed, it's an evocative ruin perched above the eponymous village (also worth a visit).
It's also (nearly) at one end of the steam railway to Swanage...
Swanage
Victorian sea-side town, which has managed to retain its charm and a vibrant community culture - the wedding is quite likely to be during Swanage's carnival week! All seaside favourites can be found here - fish 'n chips (The Fish Plaice is the pick of the bunch), gelato/ice-cream, crazy golf, an arcade - alongside its pier and a sandy beach.
And, of course, it's at one end of the steam railway to Corfe.