Durdle Door is a 25 minute walk from our B&B, Bed and Breakfast, Accommodation

Dorset

Durdle Door, Dorset Durdle Door

Abbotsbury, Dorset Swanage Railway, Dorset Arne Peninsula, Dorset Bovington Tank Museum, Dorset Corfe Castle, Dorset
       Sunny Days in Lulworth Cove

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Gatton
House

Main Road
West Lulworth
Dorset
BH20 5RL
England
UK

01929 400252
avril@gattonhouse.co.uk


4 Star Guest House with Silver Award

4 Star
Silver Award
Guest House


Durdle Door in 1804

A sketch of Durdle Door from 1804, from Ancestry Images. Two hundred years later, it looks much the same!

Durdle Door

Durdle Door is world famous and a familiar symbol of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

The path from Lulworth Cove to Durdle Door

The stretch of coastal path between Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door is visited by some 200,000 people a year. The walk leads up from the car park in Lulworth Cove, over Hambury Hill, to the rock arch and beaches at Durdle Door.

The path down towards Durdle Door

John O'Keefe in 1792 declared:-

They persuaded me to keep on, and at last stranded me on the pebbles, exactly opposite the magnificent arch of Durdle rock Door. Here I stood and contemplated with astonishment and pleasure this stupendous piece of Nature's work.

What he really wanted to see was the ice cream van at the top of the hill!

The Ice Cream Van at Durdle Door

This overlooks Man of War Bay, which sweeps round to the headland which contains the Durdle Door Arch.

The western end of Man of War Bay adjacent to Durdle Door

Man of War Bay adjacent to Durdle Door

The view east from Man of War Bay towards St Oswalds Bay

Between 1811 and 1826 Durdle Door appeared on O/S maps as Dirdale Door, Duddle Door and even Dudde Door. The origins of the name are not clear. Some say the word Durdle is derived from the Saxon word Durch, meaning through. Others say it evolved from the Old English word 'thyrel', or 'thirl' meaning 'holed', dorset dialect sounding the 'th' as 'd'.

Durdle Door Beach

Durdle Door viewed from Coast Path

The Beach to the west of Durdle Door

The Durdle Door rock arch dates from the Jurassic period. The softer surrounding rocks have been worn away and the sea has punched through the hard barrier of Portland Limestone, creating a perfect arch.

Many fail to notice that the inland face of Durdle Door is formed from the same fossil forest as seen to the east of Lulworth Cove. You can still see the large round structures where the wood once stood, the difference being, the fossilised algae completely covers the holes.

Durdle Door, Dorset

For the Geology of Durdle Door, see the Southampton University web site:-

Durdle Door


 

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Gatton House B&B, Bed and Breakfast Accommodation in Lulworth Cove, West Lulworth, Dorset