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Programme 2: Frontline Dorset - Channel 4

Programme 2: Frontline Dorset In this week s walk we cover a 60-mile stretch of the stunning coast of Dorset , uncovering evidence of a time when this sleepy county of rolling hills and winding lanes was utterly transformed. When WWII broke out and the threat of a Nazi invasion was real, Dorset was Frontline Britain. This 5 day walk begins just outside the village of Abbotsbury, on the western edge of Chesil Beach. It heads through the harbours of Weymouth and Portland before taking in the spectacular landmark of Durdle Door. We watch our step as we cross the firing ranges of Lulworth,and make our way to Studland and Swanage; locations that played a vital role in the run-up to D-Day. Along the route we explore a rich history of the defiance and courage exhibited during the most destructive war the world has ever known.

Programme 2: Frontline Dorset In this week’s walk we cover a 60-mile stretch of the stunning coast of Dorset, uncovering evidence of a time when this sleepy county of rolling hills and winding lanes was utterly transformed.

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Transcription of Programme 2: Frontline Dorset - Channel 4

1 Programme 2: Frontline Dorset In this week s walk we cover a 60-mile stretch of the stunning coast of Dorset , uncovering evidence of a time when this sleepy county of rolling hills and winding lanes was utterly transformed. When WWII broke out and the threat of a Nazi invasion was real, Dorset was Frontline Britain. This 5 day walk begins just outside the village of Abbotsbury, on the western edge of Chesil Beach. It heads through the harbours of Weymouth and Portland before taking in the spectacular landmark of Durdle Door. We watch our step as we cross the firing ranges of Lulworth,and make our way to Studland and Swanage; locations that played a vital role in the run-up to D-Day. Along the route we explore a rich history of the defiance and courage exhibited during the most destructive war the world has ever known.

2 Please use OS Explorer Map: OL 15 Purbeck and South Dorset . All Distances approximate. Day 1 Abbotsbury to Weymouth, via Abbotsbury Anti-tank Defences, Abbotsbury Swannery and Langton Herring. Distance: miles Day 2 Weymouth (via Portland) to Osmington Mills, via Nothe Fort, Portland, Jack Mantle s Grave. Distance: miles Day 3 Osmington Mills to Lulworth, via Ringstead Radar Bunker, Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. Distance: miles Day 4 Lulworth to Worth Matravers, via Lulworth Firing Ranges, Iron Age Hill Fort, St Aldhelm s Head. Distance: miles Day 5 Worth Matravers (via Studland Bay) to Swanage, via Fort Henry, Studland Bay. Distance: miles Day 1: Abbotsbury to Weymouth, via Abbotsbury Anti-Tank Defences, Abbotsbury Swannery, Langton Herring. miles From Abbotsbury Beach car park head east along the South West Coastal Path, then divert to Chesil Beach to find the anti-tank defences at the western edge of the Fleet Lagoon.

3 Abbotsbury Anti-Tank Defences In May 1940 the Germans invaded France, conquering the entire country in just six weeks. British forces had to be evacuated from Dunkirk and everyone expected an imminent Nazi invasion of Britain. The long open stretches of Chesil Beach were considered to be particularly vulnerable. So, engineers spent the summer of 1940 working furiously to erect defences here. The blocks are cleverly positioned, any vehicle landing between here and Portland is prevented from advancing inland by the lagoon behind the beach. The anti-tank defences, or Dragon s Teeth , blocked the only exit along a 10 mile stretch of shingle. It formed part of a larger interlocking set of defences, known as the coastal crust. Evidence of this can be found along the walk, in the form of concrete pillboxes. Double back west to the South West Coast Path and head east towards Abbotsbury Swannery, passing below St Catherine s Chapel and a host of pillboxes.

4 Visit Abbotsbury Swannery (there is a small entrance fee) to see a striking WWII relic. Abbotsbury Swannery and the Bouncing Bomb There s been a swannery at Abbotsbury since medieval times, when local Benedictine Monks set one up to farm swans for the dinner table. During the early days of WWII this stretch of water was turned into a testing ground for one of the most innovative weapons of the war, the incredible dam-busting bouncing bomb. Sir Barnes Wallis, a leading WWII scientist, needed a place with long stretches of open water to test his bouncing bombs, somewhere shallow enough to reclaim his prototypes. The Fleet was the ideal spot, and for a few months in 1942 and early 1943 his team came here for the first ever tests of their novel weapon. The prototype bouncing bomb on display at Abbotsbury Swannery remained in the Fleet until it was retrieved by the navy in 1990.

5 From the swannery, continue east along the South West Coast Path to Langton Herring. Here you can call into the Elm Tree pub, a favourite haunt of bouncing bomb pioneer Sir Barnes Wallis. Langton Herring Langton Herring is one of just 14 villages considered Doubly Thankful . This means that all the men who left to fight in WWI and in WWII survived. From Langton Herring re-join the South West Coast Path and head straight to Weymouth, where Day 1 of the walk is complete. Day 2: Weymouth (via Portland) to Osmington Mills, via Nothe Fort, Portland, Jack Mantle s Grave. miles From Weymouth head back west along the South West Coast Path towards the Isle of Portland. Overlooking the ex-military Portland Harbour stands Nothe Fort. Nothe Fort Nothe Fort, now a museum, was built under Queen Victoria to protect Portland Harbour, when the threat of war came from the French, rather than the Germans.

6 It fast became an important Royal Naval base and went on to play an important role in WW II. From early 1940 it was rigged with anti-aircraft guns and searchlights, and turned into the South West s biggest anti-aircraft ammunition store. Nothe Fort bolstered Britain s coastal defences, now that there was a threat of attack from the air as well as the sea. The defences at Nothe Fort would be tested in action within days of the fall of France, when Hitler s attention switched across the Channel to Britain. The strategically important Portland Harbour was a prime target; it was home to a significant number of Britain s warships and was vulnerable. Continue along the South West Coast Path from Nothe Fort to Portland. Follow the north westerly edge of Portland Harbour where it meets the easterly end of Chesil Beach and a narrow bank of shingle that connects the Isle of Portland, actually a peninsula, to the mainland.

7 Continue across to Portland and visit the royal naval cemetery which lies on the northern slope of Portland Bill, three-quarters of a mile east from Portland railway station. Portland Royal Navy Cemetery The cemetery overlooking Portland Harbour is for local servicemen and officers from the local Royal Navy which was stationed at Portland until 1995. It holds 140 casualties of the world wars and the 1957 HMS Sidon torpedo explosion. Amongst the graves is that of Jack F. Mantle, who was awarded a Victoria Cross for manning a pom-pom gun during a raid on Portland Harbour in July 1940. It was only the second VC to be awarded for action in the UK. Jack was on board HMS Foylebank, a former merchant ship that had been fitted with anti-aircraft guns. She was deployed to protect the harbour from attack, an assignment that made her a prime target for incoming German aircraft.

8 Jack s citation reads: Leading Seaman Jack Mantle was in charge of the Starboard pom-pom gun when HMS Foylebank was attacked by enemy aircraft on the 4th of July Early in the action his left leg was shattered by a bomb, but he stood fast at his gun and went on firing. Between his bursts of fire he had time to reflect on the grievous injuries of which he was soon to die but his great courage bore him up till the end of the fight, when he fell by the gun he had so valiantly served . Jack s act of bravery cost him his life; he was just 23 years old. From the cemetery there is a great view of Portland Harbour; look out for a concrete breakwater. These were constructed from sections of Mulberry Harbour and were used during the D-Day Landings. Retracing our steps from the Portland Royal Navy Cemetery, we head back to Weymouth along the South West Coast Path, and get a closer look at Mulberry Harbour, before continuing to Weymouth.

9 Walking along the esplanade look out for the Weymouth American War Memorial. From the east side of Weymouth bay we continue along the coast path through Bowleaze to Osmington Mills, where we end Day 2 s walk at a welcoming pub: The Smugglers Inn. Day 3: Osmington Mills to Lulworth, via Ringstead Radar Bunker, Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. miles Leave Osmington Mills on the South West Coast Path heading east over the hills, to Ringstead Bay. En route, look out for concrete structures which are evidence of WWII radar masts. Ringstead Radar Bunker Ringstead was the site of a very large radar station and one of its key bunkers is located just north of the South West Coast Path. Today it s preserved by the National Trust. Radar uses bursts of high frequency radio waves, transmitted from a mast, to detect aircraft.

10 The signal bounces back to receiver stations, allowing operators to work out the aircraft s height, speed and direction. Radar, developed just before the war, was essential to the defence of Britain. Between July and September 1940 the Luftwaffe and RAF fought for air supremacy over southern England. The Germans needed control of the skies if they were going to invade; the future of the war hung in the balance. Radar gave the Brits an early warning of approaching aircraft and a fighting chance. A line of transmitter bunkers, called a radar chain, spanned the British coastline with the western end on the Dorset coast. During the Battle of Britain those manning stations like the one at Ringstead were frantically feeding back information on enemy plane movements to Fighter Command. Thanks to their work, RAF fighters broke up repeated German attacks. On 15 September 1940 they assisted the RAF in claiming an incredible 185 Luftwaffe planes.


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