Lulworth Cove Dorset
Lulworth Cove on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset is one of the most perfectly formed natural harbours on the English coast, a near-circular bay carved from the softer Wealden beds behind a narrow gap in the Portland limestone ridge that protects the cove from the full force of the Channel. The geological formation that produced Lulworth Cove is a classic and much-studied example of coastal erosion working selectively on rocks of different hardness, and the cove's almost circular plan, enclosed by the surrounding hills, gives it a quality of natural completeness unusual in coastal forms.
The story of the cove's formation begins with the differential erosion of the different rock types in the sequence. The Portland limestone ridge at the mouth of the cove is hard and resistant, and the gap through which the sea entered to carve the circular basin was probably first opened by a stream cutting through the ridge from behind. Once through the limestone, the sea encountered the softer Wealden clays, sandstones and sands behind and quickly carved the circular basin that the cove now occupies. The chalk hills that close the cove on three sides represent the next harder rock type beyond the Wealden beds, and their resistance has stopped the erosion progressing further inland.
The village at the head of the cove provides visitor facilities and the car park above is one of the most popular coastal car parks in Dorset, with Durdle Door a twenty-minute walk to the west along the South West Coast Path. The Fossil Forest, a series of stumps and rounded forms in the limestone at the eastern side of the cove, preserves the remains of a forest that grew here during the Jurassic period approximately 135 million years ago.
The combination of geological interest, beautiful enclosed beach and the walking connections to Durdle Door and the Purbeck Heritage Coast makes Lulworth one of the most rewarding short visits on the Jurassic Coast.