The Top 20 Natural Monuments in West Dorset
West Dorset’s landscape is a beautiful place to explore — something that you can best experience by visiting one of our 20
beautiful natural monuments in West Dorset. To help you find the one for, you can see all the details you need to explore the best natural monuments, and better plan your next outdoor adventure!
beautiful natural monuments in West Dorset. To help you find the one for, you can see all the details you need to explore the best natural monuments, and better plan your next outdoor adventure!
Last updated: November 15, 2025
Golden Cap Summit
Highlight • Summit
Standing at 626 feet (191 m), Golden Cap is the highest point on the South Coast. From the cliff, you are afforded utterly breathtaking views over Lyme Bay to Dartmoor and ahead to the Isle of Portland.
Tip by
Pilsdon Pen Summit and Trig Point
Highlight • Natural Monument
Pilsdon Pen affords fine views over the rolling Dorset countryside. In clear conditions, you can see Golden Cap, Marshwood Vale, and the ocean to the south, Exmoor and the Quantocks …
Tip by
Sign up now to discover places like this
Get recommendations on the best single tracks, peaks, & plenty of other exciting outdoor places.
Sign up for free
West Bay Cliffs
Highlight • Natural Monument
The crumbling sandstone cliffs at West Bay reveal geology that is 175 million years old. These immense cliffs are awe-inspiring to gaze at from the beach and afford wonderful views when you climb to the top.
Tip by
Charmouth Beach
Highlight • Historical Site
Charmouth Beach is one of the best places in the UK to hunt for fossils. Thousands of Jurassic fossils have been deposited on the beach as a result of rapid erosion.
Tip by
Chesil Beach & The Fleet
Highlight • Beach
Author John Fowles described Chesil Beach as “an elemental place, made of sea, shingle and sky”. Backed by The Fleet, the largest tidal lagoon in Britain, this natural pebble beach …
Tip by
Doghouse Hill
Highlight (Segment) • Summit
Very nice hiking trail with a great view. It is believed that this area was already settled in the Mesolithic. However, 6,000 to 8,000 years ago, the residents of that …
Translated by Google •
Tip by
Cerne Abbas Giant
Highlight • Natural Monument
The Cerne Abbas Giant is a large, ancient figure depicting a naked man holding a club, and it's often associated with various myths and fertility rituals.
The origin and purpose …
The origin and purpose …
Tip by
Colmer's Hill
Highlight • Viewpoint
Colmer's Hill is a fantastically distinctive, conical hill in the west of Dorset. It rises above the stunning Symondsbury Estate and makes for an excellent objective on a walk in …
Tip by
Black Ven Cliffs and Fossil Beach
Highlight (Segment) • Natural Monument
The Black Ven has been historically renowned for paleontology. Mary Anning found an ichthyosaurus in The Spittles, and James Harrison found the first fossil remains of a Scelidosaurus while quarrying …
Tip by
Hell Stone Dolmen
Highlight • Natural Monument
The reassuringly-named Hell Stone is a Neolithic long barrow, one of several such burial chambers on the Dorset downs. This one lies in a field to the south west of …
Tip by
Ware Cliffs
Highlight • Viewpoint
A clear recommendation to read if you’re into Crime Novels - the stories about Detective Caine, aka the mindful detective. Written by Laurence Anholt, by the way (no, it’s not …
Tip by
Sign up for free to discover even more natural monuments in West Dorset.
Sign up for free
Already have an account?
Other adventures in West Dorset
Most popular attractions in West Dorset
Get inspired with the komoot mobile app
With a free komoot account, you can easily find, customize, and navigate endless outdoor adventures around London and beyond.
Didn’t find what you were looking for?
Find even more amazing natural monuments in West Dorset by checking out the top Highlights region by region:
Compton ValenceCharmouthWootton FitzpaineWinterborne MonktonChickerellOwermoigneBurlestonChilfromeChilcombePowerstockTincletonRampishamLitton CheneyGodmanstoneOsmingtonWinterbourne SteepletonCrosswaysBettiscombePorteshamLittlebredyBincombeBroadwindsorCheselbourneBradpoleBothenhamptonToller PorcorumFrome VauchurchMelcombe HorseyBeaminsterTolpuddleShipton GorgeThorncombeNetherburyLeighLong BredyPuncknowleStanton St. GabrielCerne AbbasMappertonWest ComptonCharminsterWinterborne St. MartinWest KnightonToller FratrumAlton PancrasWoodsfordAllingtonAbbotsburyPuddletownWynford EagleBuckland NewtonAthelhamptonStinsfordStoke AbbottWraxallStrattonEvershotWarmwellBurton BradstockMarshwoodSydling St. NicholasWinterborne CameBurstockMaiden NewtonNether CerneWhitcombeLyme RegisRyme IntrinsecaFrome St. QuintinNorth PoortonPilsdonBridportCatherston LewestonSymondsburyBroadmayneFleetCorscombeLangton HerringWinterbourne AbbasFramptonSwyreDorchesterHalstockWhitchurch CanonicorumKingston RussellAskerswellLodersCattistockDewlishPiddlehintonChideockWest StaffordPoxwellPiddletrenthideBradford PeverellWinterborne Herringston
Explore more
Extend your search for the best caves by checking out these guides of the top ones in West Dorset:
Get ready to conquer new peaks
Sign up for Free