Englands only World Heritage Coast

This is Englands only World Heritage Coast, which runs from Exmouth in East Devon along the coast to the Southern end of Studland Bay in Dorset .

This 95 mile stretch of coast with its changing scenery goes back 250 million years & is the best place in the World to see a complete sequence of rocks from the Triassic, Jurassic & Cretaceous periods of geological time.

The Rocks, the Fossils, the Geomorphological (erosion) features & beautiful coastline are just a few reasons why the coast has been designated a World Heritage site.

The Oldest rocks from the Triassic period (200-250 million years old) form the Red Cliffs of East Devon.

The dark clay rocks around Lyme Regis show Jurassic rocks (200 million years old) while the youngest Cretaceous rocks form the Isle of Portland (140 million years old).

From Purbeck, through Lulworth Cove & out to Ballard Down runs a huge fold. Here the best sections through the Cretaceous rocks are exposed.

Along the coast there are a number of exceptional Fossil sites, including Lower Jurassic rocks at Lyme Regis, Fossil Forrest on Portland & Lulworth Cove.

The Geomorphological (erosion) features can be seen on different parts of all our rides. Chesil Beach & the Fleet, the raised beaches of Portland, Durdle Door & Lulworth Cove are excellent examples.

Research & Education is continually being updated with new Fossil finds nearly every year. New ideas of how Chesil Beach was formed are being investigated. There is now speculation that perhaps Chesil is disappearing.

The changing Geology & the Erosion cutting into the rocks has created a coastline worthy of being England 's first Natural World Heritage Site.