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 pos ...

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 and Poole Harbour to the no ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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 an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

. 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, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

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 ''The Underwater Menace'' is the half-missing fifth serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 14 January to 4 February 1967. In this seri ...

", and then as the planet

Skaro Skaro is a fictional planet in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks. In ''The Daleks'' (1963–64), Skaro is described as being the twelfth ...

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 extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

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 used for a location shoot for the forthcoming '' Star Wars'' 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