Durdle Door

Durdle Door is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset. It stands on a concordant coastline where bands of rock run parallel to the shoreline. The arch formed where a resistant Portland limestone band once met weaker, easily eroded rocks behind it. A thicker band of chalk forms the Purbeck Hills further inland. The coastline here is shaped by the Lulworth crumple, created by the building of the Alps in the mid-Cenozoic. The arch is privately owned by the Weld family but open to the public. UNESCO teams monitor its condition and that of the adjacent beach. Nearby Man o’ War Cove shows the remaining limestone band above the waves as Man O’War Rocks. Offshore, eroded limestone forms small islets called The Bull, The Blind Cow, The Cow, and The Calf. The cliffs occasionally suffer rockfalls, such as a large slide east of Durdle Door in April 2013. Visitors find the arch reached by a short walk from the Lulworth Estate car park. The beach below offers views of the arch framed by steep cliffs. The surrounding coastline includes Lulworth Cove a mile away, where the same limestone band forms the cove’s narrow entrance. Films, music videos and TV shows have used the landscape, including scenes in Wilde and Doctor Who. The area’s geology and views have inspired writers like Arthur Moule, a friend of Thomas Hardy.