Winspit is a disused quarry on the cliffs near

Worth Matravers Worth Matravers () is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The village is situated on the cliffs west of Swanage. It comprises limestone cottages and farm houses and is built around a pond, which is a regular feature on p ...

in the

Isle of Purbeck The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome and Poo ...

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 ...

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 ...

. To the west and east are the hills of West Man and East Man. Until around 1940 Winspit was used as a stone quarry, providing stone for buildings in London. 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 ...

it was used as a site for naval and air defences. After the war the caves were opened to the public. The quarry is now a lesser-known

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

. Recently many of Winspit's caves have been closed off for public safety and bat conservation. In March 2022, it was announced that 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 ...

had purchased the 350 acre Weston Farm, including Winspit and its bat caves, adding to its other landholdings in the village and its vicinity such as Spyway.

Filming location

Winspit Quarry and caves were used as a location for the planet Mecron II in the ''Blake's 7'' episode "Games", and in ''Doctor Who'' they were used in the story " The Underwater Menace", and then as the planet

Skaro The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Na ...

in the serial "

Destiny of the Daleks ''Destiny of the Daleks'' is the first serial of the 17th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 September to 22 September 1979. The story introduces ...

", the quarry's stone cottage and two other larger buildings, (which were just empty derelict shells, with their roofs missing), were used in "Destiny", they were transformed into the external ruins of the long abandoned

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in th ...

city and disused Kaled Bunkers. Later for the 2012 Disney film ''John Carter'' it was used as the scene location for the "Orkney Dig". In May 2021 the quarry was also used for a location shoot to portray the rebel base on

Yavin 4 Yavin 4 (or Yavin IV) is a natural satellite in the Star Wars fictional universe. Located in the Outer Rim, this moon orbits the gas giant Yavin. It appears mainly in the films ''Rogue One'' and '' A New Hope'', for which the exterior scenes are ...

for the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' television series '' Andor''. Climbingwinspit

File:Winspit Cove, Dorset in 2010.jpg, Winspit Cove File:Winspit quarry 3.JPG, Inside a gallery

References

External links

National Coastwatch Institution St Alban's Head website

British Film Locations Orkney Dig
Isle of Purbeck Tourist attractions in Dorset History of Dorset Quarries in Dorset Jurassic Coast {{Dorset-geo-stub