(Notes on the Jurassic Coast are taken from my book Great British Road Trips.)
Durdle Door in Dorset
There’s a lot of chatter on travel pages lately about which is the best road trip in Britain.
Scotland’s North Coast 500? Pembrokeshire Coast 200? Snake Pass in the Peak District?” Or, according to one magazine, the Cheddar Gorge.
But it depends on your frame of reference – the most popular or the most spectacular?
Most commentaries rate the North Coast 500 as the most spectacular.
Using RAC data, the team at Scottish country clothing specialists, House of Bruar, ranked famous driving routes in Britain for popularity based on the number of Instagram hashtags each route has.
On that score Dorset’s Jurassic Coast came first with 522,000 hashtags. The North Coast 500 came in second with 181,000 hashtags.
Those ratings however probably reflect geographic accessibility more than anything else. It’s a lot easier to hop down to Devon from London than it is to get to the northernmost reaches of Scotland.
There is no question, however, that the Jurassic Coast trip is not only popular but spectacular.
It’s a walk through time. With its rocks and fossils we can uncover detailed stories from Earth’s ancient past. Through its landslides, cliffs and beaches we can learn about the natural processes that formed the coast and continue to shape the world today.
The layers of sedimentary rock along the Jurassic Coast can be read like a book. They reveal the history of Earth across 185 million years and form a near complete record of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Exploring this immense story takes us on a walk through time across deserts, tropical seas, ancient forests and lush swamps, recorded in rock and laid out along the 95 mile stretch of coast between Exmouth in East Devon and Studland Bay in Dorset.
It is a site of outstanding international importance for Earth Science. For this reason the Dorset and East Devon Coast – the Jurassic Coast – was designated as England’s first natural World Heritage Site in 2001.
Perhaps the very best way to appreciate the Jurassic Coast is from the sea. On the water, you can get up close and personal to dramatic sea stacks, admire sweeping beaches and intimate coves in all their glory, look in awe at the cliffs (from a safe distance!) and really get a feel for the spectacular geological processes that make this place what it is. Add to that frequent bird sightings and, if you are lucky, maybe even a pod of dolphins or the odd seal.
There are several boat trip operators who will help you get out on the water.
Lyme Regis. A mediaeval town that was once a haunt for smugglers before a fashion for sea bathing gave it a more respectable air and it became a resort town of some note. Edward II used it as a naval base during his wars with the French and the Duke of Monmouth landed here in 1685 to lead his ill-starred revolution against King James II.
The harbour wall for Lyme Regis is called The Cobb. No satisfactory explanation of the name exists but a man-made construction has served as a refuge here since at least 1313. Walking the wall is the best way to see The Cobb, although the Health and Safety people do their best to put you off with gaudy yellow notices.
Meryl Streep managed, in bad weather, to get to the end of The Cobb in the film The French Lieutenant’s Woman so it can be done (although rumour has it that it was a stunt man dressed in her cloak).
However, in Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Louisa Musgrove jumps off the steps, falls, and is concussed – so mind how you go!
Dinosaurland Fossil Museum. A private museum which is owned and run by palaeontologist Steve Davies and his wife Jenny. The museum contains a spectacular collection of the local Jurassic marine fossils. The collection is probably the best fossil collection on public display in SW England. In Coombe St, Lyme Regis.
The Lyme Regis Museum. If you are interested in the Jurassic Coast attractions this is a great place to start. It houses some fantastic fossils and is a place to learn about the long history of fossil collecting in the area and the deep links between Lyme Regis and the history of science going back two hundred years. Find out about Mary Anning, the greatest fossil hunter that ever lived and William Buckland, known as ‘the father of geology’.
Sidmouth. A dignified seaside resort snuggled between the red cliffs and the green fields of the Sid Valley.
The infant Princess Victoria, later to become Queen Victoria, briefly lived here at Woolbrook Cottage, now the Royal Glen Hotel. The death of her father, the Duke of Kent, a few weeks later cut short her stay.
The Donkey Sanctuary. Slade Farm is home to 500 donkeys, many of them rescued from situations of cruelty and neglect. You can get up close and personal with these remarkable and affectionate animals. Great stop for kids. Restaurant on site.
Durdle Door is one of Dorset’s most photographed landmarks. The name Durdle comes from the Old English word “thirl” which means to pierce, bore or drill. Easy to see how the formation got its name. It was created when the immense power of the Atlantic waves pierced, bored or drilled a hole in the limestone rock to form a natural arch.