Durdle Door
Durdle Door is one of the most photographed natural features on the English coast, a natural limestone arch projecting from the Jurassic Coast of Dorset near Lulworth Cove whose dramatic form and extraordinary coastal setting have made it one of the defining images of the English seaside. The arch was formed when the sea broke through a headland of Portland limestone, leaving a freestanding rock bridge above the water that frames the sea beyond in a composition of instinctive beauty that has attracted artists and visitors since the road to this section of the coast was built in the Victorian period.
The geology of Durdle Door is part of the extraordinary story of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, where the tilted and eroded rocks exposed in the cliffs represent 185 million years of geological time. The limestone rocks of the arch were laid down on the floor of a shallow tropical sea approximately 150 million years ago and have been tilted from their original horizontal position by the same geological forces that created the Alps. The result of this tilting is that the Portland limestone, being harder than the clays and sandstones between the ridges, resists erosion and stands proud while the softer rocks are worn away, creating the headlands, coves and arches that characterise this section of coast.
The beach below the arch is accessible by a steep path from the Durdle Door car park and provides sheltered swimming in crystal-clear water enclosed between limestone headlands. The water quality and clarity here is exceptional by English standards and the beach is among the most beautiful on the Dorset coast, though the path descent and the popularity of the site mean it can be busy in summer.
Lulworth Cove, a perfectly circular natural harbour carved from the softer rocks behind the Portland limestone ridge, is a twenty-minute walk to the east and provides a complementary geological feature on the same circular walk.