A bus (hourly 10.30am–12.30pm & 2–3pm; on weekends also at 9.30am; admission fee & transport $8.50) runs the 7km to the fortifications at the point, part of the park, with three optional drop-offs for walks: the first, the Walter Pisterman Heritage Walk (1km return; suitable for wheelchairs), leads through coastal vegetation to the Port Phillip Bay shoreline; the second (1km return; steep in sections) leads to the top of Cheviot Hill, where you can look across to Queenscliff, and takes you on to views of Cheviot Beach where on December 17, 1967, Harold Holt, Australia’s prime minister at the time, went for a swim in the rough surf of Bass Strait and disappeared, presumed drowned: his body was never found.
The third walk, the Fort Pearce Eagle’s Nest Walk (2km return; suitable for wheelchairs), crosses through defence fortifications that were once inaccessible. A fourth walk takes you around Fort Nepean, right at the point. Built at the same time as Fort Queenscliff opposite to protect wealthy post-goldrush Melbourne from an imagined Russian invasion, the fort is essentially a two-storey building below ground. It takes about an hour to explore the tunnels, which lead down to the Engine House at water level. The old quarantine station near the point offers guided tours (2pm; Sat & Sun; $5).
The rest of Mornington Peninsula National Park, which spreads itself along the ocean coast, is freely open to the public. An enjoyable two-day walk (27km) runs from London Bridge along the coast to Cape Schanck, site of an 1859 lighthouse. Here a timber staircase and walkways lead down to the sea along a narrow neck of land, providing magnificent coastal views.
The lighthouse keeper’s cottage has to be the most scenic accommodation on the peninsula . Dating back to 1859, they are completely self-contained with a cosy lounge and kitchen, one cottage with four bedrooms, the other with three bedrooms. There’s a pleasant café (daily 10am–4.30pm; in summer longer) and the lighthouse and museum are open daily for tours (every half-hour 10am–4.30pm; $6).
Also worth embarking on in this area is the Bushrangers Bay Nature Walk (6km return; 2hr) from the cape to Main Creek, which begins as a leisurely walk along the clifftop, then leads down to a wild beach facing Elephant Rock.