Durdle Door

On the Dorset coast lies an impressive archway made of rock called Durdle Door.

Having parked at the top of the cliff, M and I walked along the cliff path, along with a fair number of other people, it has to be said, and descended to take a closer look.

Durdle Door, like Chesil Beach, belongs to a piece of Jurassic coast which is a mind boggling 140 million years old. After a great deal of research i.e. dragging up my memories from GCSE geography I recalled how archways like these are formed.

If I remember correctly, the force of the waves erodes the rock. The level of erosion completely depends on the hardness of the rock - with soft rock being eroded first. Coupled with the direction of the layers of the rock, this provides the unique conditions for Durdle Door's archway to be formed.

Eventually the roof of the archway will collapse due the force of gravity, its mass, and lack of support and all that will be left of Durdle Door will be a couple of stumps. I have a feeling that this will look far less impressive.

I was very jealous of people who were coasteering and leaping off the side of Durdle Door into the sea.

M and I decided to escape the crowds at Durdle Door to scramble up a hideously steep and high cliff path.

We climbed the stupidly tall cliff

After much cursing it was deemed definitely worthwhile. Just look at that view!

If you do get around to visiting the Dorset coast, make sure you give Durdle Door a visit, preferably when the sun is sparkling on the waves and everything is just magical.