Photos of Dorset

 
 Portland Bill.


 
Portland Bill is a narrow promontory (or bill) of Portland stone at the southern end of the Isle of Portland.  It's the southernmost point off Dorset.









This is Chesil Beach, stretching off into the distance.

It's one of Britain's unique natural wonders, a shingle ridge that runs for 17 miles from Portland to West Bay.  The pebbles are graded in size - the largest are at the Portland end.  Here's some Portland-seized ones.

You're not allowed to remove a single pebble.  I'm not sure how they can tell if you have or not - I didn't get frisked on the way off the beach.

This is the sunset over Lulworth Cove.

Now, fact fans, Lulworth Cove was used as a location for the 1989 Doctor Who serial The Curse of Fenric (that's Sylvester McCoy era), such is its mystical and other-worldy feel.  The rocks are very interesting geologically, with folds and layers like a stirred-up cake mixture.  They're also full of fossils, hence the name the Jurassic Coast.

Lulworth's the horshoe-shaped cove on the left.   Stair Hole is on the right.

 
And further up the coast is Durdle Door, a natural limestone arch.

It featured in Tear's for Fears' Shout video, and also on the artwork for Pink Floyd's The Division Bell. Scenes were also shot here for the 1967 film Far from the Madding Crowd with Julie Christie and Terence Stamp.

In the very distance, on the horizon, you can see the Isle of Portland.

This is Man o' War Cove.

It's a pity you can't walk along the coastal path linking Lulworth Cove to Durdle Door, but unless it's the weekend or August, the path is out of bounds as it's on a firing range!