Worbarrow, Bay & Tout - Tyneham: Where time stopped in 1943

MUST SEE: Worbarrow Bay is a beautiful unspoilt location twenty minutes walk from the car park at Tyneham Village.

Getting there: Worbarrow lies just over a mile west from Tyneham on the coast. From Tyneham Car Park head south on the unmade road that initially leads towards Tyneham Farm and the toilets. The road then turns right heading away from Tyneham Farm and the toilets in a westerly direction. Follow this track west to Worbarrow Bay.

There is a stony beach overlooked by Worbarrow Tout which the more energetic can climb. Swimming is allowed but children should be supervised as the beach shelves steeply as you enter the water.

At the time of the 1901 Census, this remote coastal hamlet of seven cottages and a Coastguard Station was home to over fifty people. Coastguard families accounted for more than half that number.

Worbarrow: |Sheepleaze, Sea Cottage & Boathouses

When the Coastguard Station closed in 1911, the population plummeted and never recovered. Based around fishing and the nearby school and church at Tyneham, life here had remained unchanged for generations.

During the 1930’s, with increased car ownership, this beautiful spot became popular with tourists. Enterprising fishermen, supplemented their incomes by selling cooked crabs and lobsters, home-made beer and cream teas.

In 1943, the ten remaining residents, most of them elderly, were evacuated from their homes.

Worbarrow from the air in 1948 with properties marked

From White Rose Cottage and the Minterns’ house a footpath crossed the little close beside the gardens, dropped to the stream and passing by the garden of Fern Hollow joined the road near Tizzards’.
Lilian Bond

Sadly no buildings remain intact at Worbarrow. Some foundations remain visible.

Much more information about past buildings at Worbarrow including photographs can be found by clicking on the links below:

Page last updated: 13 August 2022