11km along the coast and 11.2 km Inland
The remaining part of Section 64 in the South West Coastal Path guide
After leaving our accommodation in Osmington Mills, we parked at the village carpark in Abbotsbury. A useful location right in the centre of this pretty stone-built village. From here we followed a series of footpaths and bridleways, some part of the Hardy Way, eventually leading to Langton Herring. Just a hamlet but with a church and a pub in the centre of the village, and we enjoyed a coffee in the pub garden.
From here it was a short distance down to the Fleet, but to get back to East Fleet, there was another hill and then a short stretch of minor road that took us past the New Fleet Church, built slightly higher that the old church when it damaged by a storm in 1824.
So we passed the Old Church and re-joined the official coast path. Most of the route is easy and follows the edge of the Fleet, past Moonfleet Manor, now a hotel and restaurant. There were many small boats along the beach on the south side of the creek and the occasional, sometimes fairly substantial shed or boat-house opposite in Chesil Bank.
For the last couple of miles, the path leaves the Fleet, to create a quiet area for nesting birds, and ascends towards Abbotsbury.
