Tyneham Village — Attraction in Steeple with Tyneham

I found out about this hidden gem at the hostel I stayed in Swanage. It’s in the middle of nowhere. Extremely narrow road but with beautiful views. As it’s located within the Firing range area of the Army, always check the opening times during the weekend for the Lulworth Ranges and Tyneham village opening in advance. I visited on Monday, 29 April, Bank Holiday. They were open from 09 to 20h (the gate shuts). The church, school and farm shuts at 16h. They ask for a donation of 2 pounds per car to be placed in a little green box just by the first sign to your left as you enter the parking lot. I have posted a picture of it. They offer those horrible chemical toilets booths. No further structure is offered, so be prepared with plenty of water and food. I arrived after 14h and a lot of people were already leaving but the village was still crowded. Take your time to explore the ghost village, enter the houses ruins, the church and the school. Plenty of interesting stories to read with pictures of the people that once lived here and sadly have left their houses to never return due to the war. So sad. It’s a time capsule, specially the school. What a pleasant surprise! Also, great walks within the grounds. An easy and flat 15-20 min walk takes you to the beautiful beach at the Worbarrow Bay. Totally worth it! From there you can continue exploring steep walks along the coast in many directions along the beach. This was one of the highlights of my...

Eerily quiet - even more so when we visited as we travelled up into thick mist and then down into the village. It was as if we had stepped back in time. I loved the fact this place was so quiet - there was a surreal - sublime nature to the space. You could tell that the previous residents cherished this space as so much time has been put in to restoring what’s left of the village.

For me, my personal favourite was the old school house - I could imagine myself teaching in such a space 100 years ago. The curriculum - as far as I could tell from the exhibit - was centred around nature and the local country side, coupled with traditional spelling and mastery of grammar.

We spent the best part of an hour here - although you could stay longer - there’s plenty plenty of benches for picnics etc. in hindsight, we should have left the car parked here and walked along to Kimmeridge Bay on the coastal path - next time we shall do this.

Word of warning - do jot expect to travel to this archaic space and expect toilets to be available. There are 3 portaloos that are quite frankly better off avoiding - less you be scarred for life.

All in all 4 stars - - would have been 5 if not for the...

I have visited Tyneham several times now and it still leaves me thinking about the people who lived here and wondering "what if". It is incredibly beautiful and peaceful and even when there are lots of people about voices always seem to be kept quiet and respectful. The church is very beautiful and well kept with lots of information about the villages past residents which gives a real insight into these people's lives and how things changed for them forever. The old school room is also beautifully kept and it is worth spending some time there. There is plenty of information about the other buildings in the village although some are not accessible for safety reasons. There is a large car park here with suggested donation of £4, there are both toilets and portaloos on the site and some picnic benches dotted about. Please note there are no rubbish bins or dog waste bins so everything needs to be taken home with you. Also no WiFi and no phone reception here. And if you are up for a walk follow the footpath down to Worbarrow bay and spend some time on the...