Our verdict
An atmospheric, unusual place to walk precisely because of its odd history, but access is genuinely restricted to when the ranges are open — check before you go, and keep to the marked paths (yellow posts) rather than wandering off through the woods.
Woodland on the edge of Tyneham, Dorset's famous 'ghost village', evacuated in 1943 for wartime training and never resettled — the whole area remains part of the MOD's Lulworth Ranges. The woods and surrounding heath and downland are only open when the ranges aren't in use, mostly weekends and school holidays, alongside the preserved church and school in the village itself.