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

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

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.

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!

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

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'.

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.

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

Durdle Door