Ringstead is a small seaside

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located on the coast in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, southern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The area lies on the

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast, also known as the Dorset and East Devon Coast, is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was ins ...

and is known for its natural environment and

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

Ringstead Bay __NOTOC__ Ringstead Bay is an bay, open bay of the English Channel located east of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth in Dorset, England. The bay lies on the Jurassic Coast and in the Dorset National Landscape area, and is known for its natural environm ...

, Mottram's beach and

White Nothe White Nothe (meaning "White Nose") is a chalk downland, chalk headland on the English Channel coast at the eastern end of Ringstead Bay, east of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth in Dorset, England. The area is well known for its geology and fossils. ...

are to the east.

Bran Point Bran Point is a small headland on the Dorset coast in southern England, about halfway between the small villages of Ringstead, Dorset, Ringstead to the east and Osmington Mills to the west. There is a picturesque cliff-top path between the two ...

and

Osmington Mills Osmington Mills is a coastal hamlet in the English county of Dorset. It lies within the civil parish of Osmington northeast of Weymouth. Geology The coastline around Osmington Mills is part of Dorset's ''Jurassic Coast'', and fossils can b ...

are to the west.

Beach

Ringstead has a pebble and shingle beach with some sand at the western end of Ringstead Bay. There are offshore

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

s approximately in length opposite the beach at Ringstead that are uncovered at low tide. These form an

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

between the low cliffs to the north and the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

to the south.

West Ringstead

The original medieval village and church at Ringstead, located in a field to the west of the current settlement and mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, no longer exists. It was most likely abandoned after the arrival of the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

at Weymouth in 1348. All that can be seen now are variations in the ground level. The site is listed on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

Modern Ringstead

The modern village of Ringstead is located to the west of the original abandoned village, with a few former fishermen's cottages and holiday homes. The beach, although mostly shingle, is popular with holidaymakers. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, a

radar station Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), direction (azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track aircraft ...

, known as RAF Ringstead, was located at Ringstead.

Location

Immediately to the east are

Burning Cliff __NOTOC__ Burning Cliff is a cliff under the White Nothe headland at the eastern end of Ringstead Bay, in Dorset, England. The area is well known for its geology and fossils. The cliff is to the northwest of White Nothe. From 1826, the cliff sm ...

, Mottram's beach and beyond that the white chalk cliffs of

, dominating the view. It is possible to walk to the top of White Nothe and back from the village, with views of the bay and across to the

Isle of Portland The Isle of Portland is a tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill, lies south of the resort of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier ...

. It is also possible to walk to Ringstead Bay on a circular walk from

Lulworth Cove Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, southern England. It is privately owned by the Weld family along with Durdle Door and the Lulworth Estate. The cove is one of the world's finest examples ...

to the east, via

Durdle Door Durdle Door (sometimes written Durdle Dor) is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset, England.West, I.W., 2003.Durdle Door; Geology of the Dorset Coast". Southampton University, UK. Version H.07.09.03. It is ...

and White Nothe. The small village of

lies on the coast about to the west and there is a footpath along the cliffs, via

.Osmington, Osmington Mills and RingsteadDorset
UK. Perry Ledge is a reef off the beach near Bran Point. The large town of Weymouth is situated approximately west of Ringstead Bay. Ringstead also has a

nudist Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

beach that is a 20-minutes walk east of the main beach.

Access

Ringstead is accessible by way of a

private road A private road is a road owned or controlled by a private person, persons or corporation rather than a road open to the public and owned by a government. Private roads can be on private land or can be constructed on government land for use by go ...

with a

car park A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdic ...

and shop/cafe at the end near the sea just before the village itself. There is an alternative free car park in the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

area further inland, with footpath access to the sea via a 15–20 minute walk.

References

External links

* Villages in Dorset Populated coastal places in Dorset Jurassic Coast Nude beaches {{Dorset-geo-stub