Middle Beach is a small beach on 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, Dorset, River Frome and Poo ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The beach is located north of Studland and is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

Beach

The beach has views of

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

from across Studland Bay and

Poole Harbour Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley ( ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being th ...

Café

A café has stood in the same spot since 1904 and the current building opened in 1953. In 2016, when the

announced that they would be moving the café and public toilets to higher ground due to "coastal erosion and

subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope mov ...

", 3,000 people signed a petition opposing the move. Plans to demolish the café were later rejected by a vote of National Trust members at their annual general meeting. In November 2022 the café was condemned to be demolished after the lease on the property ran out. The café closed for the final time on 2 January 2023. After its demolition the National Trust was accused of turning the beach in the heart of an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

into a "bomb site" and an "eyesore". In 2024, the planned removal of the pumping station, retaining wall and sea defences will take place.

Unexploded devices

On 31 December 2021, police closed the car park after a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

grenade was uncovered. On 4 August 2022, an unexploded

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

shell was found on Middle Beach and was detonated by Royal Navy's bomb disposal team.

References

{{coord missing, Dorset National Trust properties in Dorset Tourist attractions in Dorset Beaches of Dorset Jurassic Coast Isle of Purbeck