Jurassic Coast

A World Heritage coastline recording 185 million years of geological history, with the classic Durdle Door arch and Lulworth Cove, family-friendly fossil beaches at Lyme Regis and spectacular clifftop paths along the way.

The Jurassic Coast is a natural World Heritage Site in southern England, stretching about 155 km from Old Harry Rocks in Dorset to Exmouth in Devon. It records some 185 million years of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous geological history in a continuous sequence, and is famous for its sea arches, coves, shingle banks and abundant fossils. This destination centres on the area around Lulworth Cove and covers Dorset's main coastline. It divides into three sections: in the east, the Isle of Purbeck (Old Harry Rocks, Studland, Swanage, Corfe Castle and its steam railway, Kimmeridge Bay); in the middle, Lulworth (Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove, Tyneham ghost village, The Tank Museum); and in the west, Weymouth to Lyme Regis (Portland, Chesil Beach, Abbotsbury Swannery, West Bay, and the fossil beaches of Charmouth and Lyme Regis). May–Sep is best for coastal walks and swimming, though car parks fill up fast on summer weekends; winter is quiet, and fossils are most plentiful on the beaches after storms. Trains from London Waterloo to Weymouth or Wareham take about 2.5–3 hours, but the sights are spread out, so driving or using coastal buses such as the Jurassic Coaster is recommended. Allow 2–4 days, staying in one base each for the eastern and western sections. Cliff falls are common, so never go near the cliff base or edge; only collect loose fossils from the beach and keep an eye on tide times.

Top sights

• Durdle Door – The most iconic natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast, with a curved pebble beach below where you can swim.
• Lulworth Cove – A nearly perfect circular bay, hailed as a textbook example of coastal geography, and the starting point for Durdle Door.
• Corfe Castle – A thousand-year-old Norman castle ruin standing in a gap of the Purbeck Hills, one of England's most photogenic castle ruins.
• Old Harry Rocks – The easternmost white chalk sea stacks on the Jurassic Coast, standing in clear blue water and facing the Isle of Wight across the way.
• Lyme Regis & The Cobb – A seaside 'Fossil Capital' town, with the curving old stone breakwater known as the Cobb, fossil-rich beaches and the story of Mary Anning.
• Stair Hole – A small bay on the western side of Lulworth Cove, where sea caves have broken through the outer limestone and the rock behind is folded int…
• Lulworth Castle – A hunting lodge built in the early 17th century with a distinctive four-cornered round tower design. Its grounds contain St Mary's Church…
• Swanage Railway – A heritage steam railway restored by volunteers, running from Swanage through Corfe Castle to Norden, with picturesque views of the castle…
• Studland Bay – A golden beach about 6 km long, backed by dunes and a heathland nature reserve. It is well suited to families with young children.
• Swanage – A Victorian seaside town on the Isle of Purbeck with a beach, a wooden pier and a steam railway station. It makes a good base for the easte…
• Durlston Country Park – A clifftop country park south of Swanage, featuring the Victorian Durlston Castle, a giant stone globe sculpture and a coastal path to a li…
• Dancing Ledge – A flat sea-level rock shelf left behind by quarrying, with a tidal swimming pool blasted out of the rock that is one of Britain's best-know…
• Kimmeridge Bay – A marine conservation area of flat rock shelves and rock pools. The Clavell Tower on the clifftop above is the setting for a famous novel.
• The Etches Collection – A museum of Jurassic marine fossils built around the lifetime work of a local collector. Its displays include an ichthyosaur with powerful…
• Tyneham Ghost Village – A village requisitioned in 1943 for military training and never returned to its residents. Time there seems to have stopped at the Second W…
• Chesil Beach – A shingle bank about 29 km long that encloses the Fleet Lagoon behind it. The pebbles grade from the size of peas in the west to the size o…
• Portland Bill Lighthouse – A red-and-white striped lighthouse at the southern tip of the Isle of Portland. Visitors can climb to the top to watch the tidal race in th…
• Weymouth – A Georgian seaside town favoured by George III, with golden beaches and colourful harbour houses. It makes a good base for the western part…
• Abbotsbury Swannery – The only place in the world where visitors can walk among a colony of breeding mute swans. It was founded by Benedictine monks in the 14th…
• Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens – A subtropical garden in a valley near the sea, filled with rare plants from around the world. It has something to see in every season.
• Charmouth Fossil Beach – Britain's best beach for families to hunt for fossils, where ammonites and belemnites can be found everywhere. The Heritage Coast Centre is…
• Golden Cap – The highest point on the south coast of England at 191 metres. Its golden sandstone clifftop offers views along the whole Jurassic Coast.
• West Bay – Sheer golden sandstone cliffs that look as if they were cut with a knife. They became famous as the filming location for the British drama…
• Brownsea Island – A National Trust island in Poole Harbour, home to one of Britain's few populations of red squirrels. It is also the birthplace of the Scout…
• Monkey World – A conservation centre that rescues primates, home to Europe's largest group of chimpanzees. It is well suited to families with children.
• The Tank Museum – One of the world's richest tank museums, where you can see the world's first tank and a working Tiger tank.
• Maiden Castle – One of the largest Iron Age hillforts in Europe, with massive earthen ramparts encircling the hill in impressive layers.
• Cerne Abbas Giant – A naked figure about 55 metres tall, carved into a chalk hillside and holding a wooden club. It is one of England's most famous hill figure…

Where to eat

• Crab House Cafe – A wooden-hut seafood café beside Chesil Beach, with its own Portland oyster beds just outside; the whole Portland crab…
• Square and Compass – A village pub at Worth Matravers, run by the same family for over a century, with no bar counter and only homemade pies…
• Catch at the Old Fish Market – A seafood tasting-menu restaurant above the Old Fish Market, a Grade II-listed Portland stone building at the old harbo…
• Hive Beach Cafe – A beachside seafood café below the golden cliffs of Burton Bradstock, known for its seafood platter and whole brown cra…
• Shell Bay Seafood Restaurant – A seaside seafood restaurant at Studland, the eastern starting point of the Jurassic Coast, with views over Poole Harbo…
• Marlboro Fish and Chips – A family-run fish and chip shop in Weymouth, operating since 1974, often named by locals as the best fish and chip shop…

Itineraries

• Hampshire to Dorset South Coast – Head west along the south coast: historic capital, naval dockyard, Isle of Wight, New Forest, and the Jurassic Coast.