Lulworth Ranges Access
The Lulworth Ranges are used by the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School, a training establishment of the British Army. The firing times limit access to the area, which reaches from east of Lulworth Cove to west of Kimmeridge Bay.
In this area you can find the village of Tyneham, Worbarrow Bay and the Fossil Forest. The South West Coast Path also follows this section of the coast. Red flags are flown and lamps are lit to indicate when access is prohibited to the live firing Range Danger Area.
Check planned firing times
Before your visit, check the planned firing times below, please note that these are subject to last-minute change so please phone 0800 0856628 or 01929 404712 (Mon-Fri 08:00-17:00) for up-to-date access details. For general information regarding the firing programme on Lulworth Ranges, please phone 01929 404714 for an automated message.
The gates to the range walks are opened as near to possible to 16:30 on the Friday afternoon of non firing weekends. However, this is dependent on completion of range clearance and weather. The range walks will remain open until 8:00 on the Monday morning.
Tyneham village gate permits vehicle access. It is opened at 9am when no military activity is taking place and is closed at dusk each evening. The exhibitions in Tyneham School and Tyneham Church are open from 10am until 4pm on non-firing days.
Lulworth Range walks are open to the public every weekend with the exception of the following:
- 18 to 19 January 2025
- 15 to 16 March 2025
- 14 to 15 June 2025
- 13 to 14 September 2025
- 11 to 12 October 2025
- 15 to 16 November 2025
Other Range Opening Dates
Lulworth Range walks and Tyneham village are also open every day over the following periods (all dates are inclusive):
- Christmas: 21 December 2024 to 5 January 2025
- Easter: 5 April to 21 April 2025
- Bank Holiday: 03 to 05 May 2025
- Spring stand-down: 24 May to 01 Jun 2025
- Summer stand-down: 25 July to 1 September 2025
- Christmas: 20 Dec 2025 to 05 Jan 2026
Sea Danger Area
There is also a sea danger area which extends up to 6 nautical miles offshore between Lulworth Cove and St Alban’s Head. Vessels are asked to keep out of the area at firing times.
Contact RN*: Sea Danger Area (EG D026) Lulworth Outer and its Air Danger Area is shared with the Royal Navy (RN) for live fire activity. Relevant enquiries can be made through Navy FOST Ops on Tel. 01752 557550 or Solent Coastguard on VHF channel 16. If doubt exists about the activity of a military vessel in the vicinity, then the vessel concerned may be contacted on VHF channel 16.
For further information on the Lulworth Ranges Access times see the Ministry of Defence – Defence Infrastructure Organisation website.
The Fossil Forest
The Fossil Forest location was open to the public in March 2020, as part of the Dorset Coastal Connections project.