Dorset’s Jurassic Coast stretches from Christchurch to the Exe estuary.
This diverse coast can be split into four areas, the Urban East, the Isle of Purbeck, the Centre and the West.
The Urban East (Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch), is the exciting part of the county, with half the population and most of the sailing, and lots, but by no means all, of the nightlife.
The Isle of Purbeck stretches along the coast from Swanage to Lulworth and is bounded by the river Frome to the North.Not even vaguely an island, although it can be reached by ferry from Poole, this is an area of peace, hills and plains. Good riding country in the Southern part. Coarse and fly fishing along the Frome, 3 golf clubs, good walking and interesting towns and villages. This is one of the best websites for Purbeck.
The Centre of the Jurassic Coast is the area around Portland and Weymouth. Portland has been an important part of British history since Roman times – as a source of the best building stone and as one of the largest man made harbours in the world. The height of Portland Bill ensures wonderful views for the few really good houses, and the race makes for interesting viewing.
Weymouth is a mixture of holiday town with its flat sandy beach, and fishing, sailing and ferry port which provides a feast of entertaining coming and going for the lovely houses along the quay. The hinterland of these two has a mixture of nice and nasty villages, whilst the pebbles of Chesil Beach lead one West to the delightful vllage of Abbotsbury. For an interesting diversion – take a look at this website.
The West end of the Jurassic coast is the hilliest part, which makes for dramatic clifftop walks and fossil rich beaches. Abbotsbury, Burton Bradstock and Charmouth are the principle villages, whilst Bridport and Lyme Regis are the important towns.
Dorset is good at welcoming strangers and giving them lots to do and Bridport is one of the shining examples of this trait. Lyme Regis is a quirky place of enduring charm. The whole Western area is full of good food, good entertainment and beautiful country and seaside. But this is Dorset, so what’s new!