Lulworth Cove & the Durdle Door

On a blazing Sunday in the south of England, where else is there to go but to the south coast, to the picturesque village of Lulworth Cove in Dorset to get some sea air, sunshine and blue skies.

Lulworth is a tiny little village between Swanage and Weymouth, at the start of the World Heritage Jurrasic Coastline with an amazing natural cove, formed some 10,000 years ago by a combination of the eroding powers of both the river and the sea. The harder Portland stone remains standing whilst the softer Purbecks have been swept away to form some beautiful scenery...

...Like the Durdle Door, a magnificient wave-cut arch promonotary sheltering a beach just a mile west of Lulworth Cove. The place was buzzing with activity on a sunny summer afternoon with the usual bathers and sun-burners, flocks of dopey European field-trip students and, in the water, people swimming, jumping off the rocks into the waves, jet-skiing, sea-kayaking... And back on land strangely enough there was not one mountain biker on the coastal path like you see on the South Downs way...

Now I only tarried for a two hours because the sun was skin-roasting hot and there was only enough change in the car for a couple of hours worth of parking. But I climbed the cliffs, got blisters on my feet (should have worn my Berghaus boots and not my Airwalks) breathed some good sea air in my lungs, sweated profusely, caught some UV rays, had ice cream in the village and spent some time chatting to some random lad about the Canon EOS 20D, the merits of EF-S over EF lenses, improved image quality and adjusted focal lengths etc...

And then the 90 minute drive home turned into 180 as hoardes of ravening Brits flocked off home for their evening tea & barbeques. I blame The Sun readers that jam up the "kiss-me-quick hat" beaches at Bournemouth myself, whilst the more discerning day-tripper gets an eyeful of the picturesque Lulworth Cove & Durdle Door :)