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Monday 24 November 2014

Fantastic day out along the Jurassic Coast in Dorset.




 Dora in Swanage

My Saturday outing to the coast in Swanage (Dorset) turned out to be a truly unforgettable experience. I spent my day out exploring Durlston Country Park. The Park, National Nature Reserve and Castle is just a mile from Swanage in Dorset. This countryside paradise has stunning views, the Great Globe, a variety of wild walks and fascinating geology. Durlston Country Park is a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Jurassic Coast is England's only natural World Heritage Site. This special place is famous for its incredible geology which represents 185 million years of the Earth's history in just 96 miles. Rugged rocks, spectacular cliffs, impressive sea scenery, caves, stone quarries, majestic sea stacks, wilderness.

With multilayered strata topped by distinctive golden greensand, you can best admire this geological testament to time from afar. 





Tilly Whim Caves consist of three stone quarries in Durlston Country Park, 1 mile south of Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck, in Dorset, southern England. The Tilly Whim Caves and Ledges are a part of the Jurassic Coast. The Jurassic Coast stretches over a distance of 155 kilometres (96 miles) and represents 185 million years of the Earth's history . The Jurassic Coast provides a continuous sequence of Triassic (250 million years ago), Jurassic (200 million years ago) and Cretaceous (145 million years ago) rock formations. The Jurassic Coast includes a large range of important fossil zones, for example Fossil Forest - near Lulworth Cove.




Tilly Whim Caves were limestone quarries that were worked predominantly during the eighteenth century. Purbeck Stone, a valuable type of limestone, was extracted from the Tilly Whim caves.

Today the caves are an undisturbed roost for bats. The cliffs and ledges are nesting grounds for seabirds. The area surrounding Tilly Whim is also a look out point for marine life, including grey seals and dolphins.



The coastline at Anvil Point



The Lighthouse is at Anvil Point is built of local stone and was completed in 1881. 
The light is positioned to give a waypoint for vessels on passage along the English Channel coast. To the west it gives a clear line from Portland Bill and to the east guides vessels away from the Christchurch Ledge and leads them into the Solent. 
Anvil Point Lighthouse was automated on 31st May, 1991 and is monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Operations & Planning Centre at Harwich.







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