Holidays in Britain

The Jurassic Dorset Coast.

The piece of Devon and Dorset coast known as the Jurassic Coast became England's first natural World Heritage Site in December 2001. Stretching for 95 miles from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, this unique natural wonder provides us with a snapshot of almost 200 million years of the Earth’s history, encompassing the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods of its formation.The Jurassic era started a little over 200 million years ago when sea levels rose to flood a desert landscape that existed during the Triassic Period. Throughout the Jurassic period tropical seas covered Dorset and marine life flourished. As sediments settled, the sea floor slowly subsided allowing many hundreds of metres of Jurassic sediments to accumulate. Subsidence and sea level change created deep water environments in which muds and shales settled and shallow seas in which sands and limestones accumulated. The rocks of the Dorset coast generally dip gently to the east and this has the effect of exposing a complete sequence through the Jurassic period of geological time, from the oldest rocks around Lyme Regis to the youngest near Swanage.
For the visitor to the Dorset Coast there is much to see and do. Whether your interest lies with rocks, fossils or the incredible landforms carved out by nature, you will find plenty of examples. A useful first port of call is the local Tourist Information Centre. Most towns along the coast have one. The best way to explore the coastline is on foot. The entire length of the coast is accessible via the South West Coast Path National Trail