Lulworth Cove

Lulworth Cove lies on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, a short walk from the village of West Lulworth. The cove is a smooth, curved bay where the sea has carved through bands of limestone into softer clays and greensands behind. Privately owned by the Weld family, it sits beside Durdle Door, the famous limestone arch, and near other coastal features. About half a million visitors arrive each year, with the busiest months being July and August. The cove is part of a World Heritage Site recognised for its dramatic landforms. Geologists have studied the cove since the early 19th century, and the first serious survey took place in the 1830s. The entrance is less than thirty metres wide, where waves bend into an arc shape through diffraction. Behind the limestone rim, weaker rocks have been worn away to form the wide, shallow bay. Nearby Stair Hole shows a younger version of the same process, where erosion has only just begun. The chalk hill Hambury Tout separates the cove from Durdle Door to the west. Visitors find a broad, pebble beach backed by low cliffs of clay and chalk. Steps and fences guide walkers across the hill to Durdle Door, used by over a quarter of a million people annually. To the east lies a fossilised forest, and Kimmeridge’s rocky shore is close by. The Lulworth Estate manages the land, while the Ministry of Defence owns Tyneham to the east, open only at weekends. The cove has appeared in films and television, from Four Sided Triangle to Walking Through History.