Last updated on August 23rd, 2023 at 01:28 pm
Lulworth & Durdle sounds like a law firm. Commissioners for oaths; adversarial specialists; rip-off fees; incompetence guaranteed – that sort of thing. I have known at least four firms that should have been called Bungle, Overcharge & Obfuscate.
Anyway, close by the Dorset village of West Lulworth on England’s Jurassic south coast is Lulworth Cove. This is a well-known beauty spot. The cove is a perfect horseshoe shape, formed by an ancient river wearing away a path through harder rocks to the sea, allowing the tides to then gradually encroach upon and erode softer rocks behind. There’s another cove, Stair Hole, in the process of being formed nearby to the west; one day, the two coves will join up. The layers of sedimentary rock, folded at the time the Alps were formed 30-40 million years ago (or thereabouts), are almost vertical.
There’s not much to Lulworth Cove itself – a couple of pubs/restaurants, a shop of some sort (you can certainly buy ice creams) and a large car park for the seafarers, sightseers and other visitors. I don’t think Lulworth Cove is a particularly great beach for bathing, unless you’re an enthusiast – it’s a bit rocky for me – but it’s a fine place to sit and the view is quite lovely. The little stream that bubbles into the cove had some ducklings bobbing along on it when we were last there.
A short walk away along the South West Coastal Path is Durdle Door, a natural limestone arch. It is almost impossible to take a really bad photo of Durdle Door – though there’s a guy called Matthew Lambley on Google+ who takes some really good ones. The whole area is an extraordinary, and beautiful, place – as well as being a kind of Mecca for photographers, geographers, geologists, walkers, nature-lovers and school parties.
Indeed, it would be interesting to know how many people reading this visited Lulworth as part of their geography field studies at school, how they managed to smuggle cider onto the coach for the journey home and whether they’d like an account of what happened on the back seat to be published? I hope everyone handed in their homework?
The South West Coastal Path begins (or ends) nearby in Poole Harbour and runs 630 miles between there, around the entire south west peninsula, to (or from) Minehead in Somerset.
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site. It stretches 95 miles between Devon and Dorset, and provides an insight into 185 million years of geological history. Parts of the coast are rich in fossil remains. When I last visited Lulworth & Durdle, the cliff tops were covered in a mass of brightly-coloured wild flowers. Fabulous.
I love that place Mike although we haven’t managed to visit this year. In fact, it’s where SD took that photo of me in the bikini. I seem to have been missing your posts lately, not sure why but I’m playing catch up now after a very long and busy summer so I’ll keep checking in. I know you’re a ‘fan’ of my parks gang so there’s another instalment of our committee meetings on the blog from last week if you have the time to pop by. Lovely photos as always, if the weather holds I may see if I can persuade SD that we need a day at Lulworth later in the month.
I don’t comment as often as I’d like Sarah – don’t know where the time goes!
Wonderful post – thank you .. Hilary
Lovely photos of Lulworth, it is a long time since I visited there.
One of our favourite coastal destinations, but best in winter. Fewer tourists and more atmosphere.
Such a wonderful part of the UK.
I must visit the area again soon.
The photo’s look lovely
All the best Jan
It looks stunning. I had no idea it was that beautiful as I must confess for me “Lulworth” was only the name of a paint colour by Farrow & Ball. Shame on me for my ignorance!
Fabulous place isn’t it!!!
Lovely and thanks for taking me there as Dorset is a county I have yet to visit.
Anna :o]
Thanks for popping in – come again!
gorgeous beach!
PS. There used to be a firm of solicitors in Hereford (or that direction) called Wright, Hassall and Co. Honest.
Don’t you just love names? I had a bank manager called Mr Penny once. Best – my dad had a couple of brothers in his class at school, Terence and Horace Bull… hilarious (but who’d do that to their kids?!).
Spectacularly beautiful! As you say, it is difficult taking a bad picture of such a place, but as your pictures are always really good, I don’t think you need to worry about that 🙂
Another area I am probably never going to visit in person, so I enjoy the “trip” via your blog.
Thank you – but maybe you can explore a bit more on your next trip!
Beautiful coastline. Looks similar to ours here in Eastern Canada. We have a limestone rock very similar to Durdle Door, Percé Rock.
Thanks for sharing.
What a beautiful coast! We have a rock formation at Silver Islet on Lake Superior that looks identical to that Durdle Door. As you may have noticed, I caught up with a bunch of your posts tonight. I’ve finally caught up from our holiday away in June, and saved the best (yours) for last!
You really do say the nicest things, FG 🙂
It looks delightful. A visit is long overdue.
A law firm, accounting firm, or funeral parlour!
What a magnificent landscape!
Lovely! I must return yet again to Dorset. We go quite often, the last time about a year ago, when I revisited Swanage, a place I used to work as a teenager. We went up to a much improved Durlston Castle, which was a bit of a ruin in my day but is now well restored and its wild grounds very well managed . I know there was a big landslip near Durdle Door recently, which closed the path, although it might have reopened (or at least been rerouted) by now. I certainly hope so as your pictures capture just how spectacular parts of it can be. I think my favourite three images are the semi abstract wildflowers (the abstract bit being the undulating multicoloured line of the sea in the background), the radiant image below which I would love to see greatly enlarged, and the picture of the duck (really, a large duckling, isn’t it?) I’m always taking pictures of ducks which make them look as if they are swimming in diluted mud, to my great disappointment. This one shows the water off just as splendidly as it shows the duck.
Just along the coast from there is the slightly less famous Kimmeridge Bay (I think that’s how you spell it) and I can vouch for the quality of the sloes growing up the cliff path.
So I have been on holiday to the south coast once or twice. Time for a revisit though.
I know Kimmeridge. The question is, did you make some decent sloe gin?!