The Jurassic Coast sounds dramatic. It sounds intriguing. It sounds fictional, as if a local mayor with a rather overactive imagination is trying to jazz up his borough’s name to attract tourists. Far from a land of man-eating dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, the Jurassic Coast is actually an idyllic 95-mile-long coastline in the south of England, characterised by quant seaside villages, rolling hills and scenic white chalk cliffs that descend into the sea. It runs from Old Harry Rocks in Dorset (shown in this postcard above) to Orcombe Point in East Devon.

        Its name comes from the archaeological and historic value within those chalk cliffs. It’s actually England’s first natural UNESCO World Heritage site, and its rocks record an astonishing 185 million years of the Earth’s history. If you’re lucky you might find a prehistoric fossil of your own, and if luck is not on your side that day then just pop into a local shop or visitors centre.

         I happen to have seen a fair bit of the Jurassic Coast thanks to its proximity to Exeter, where I studied at university for three years, and even before then thanks to an ex-boyfriend who lived there. It’s home to picturesque seaside towns such as Lyme Regis and Sidmouth, which are often hosts folk festivals and other countryside past-times such as the peculiar World Stinging Nettle Eating Championships…

        Apart from that, the main tourist activity along the coast is walking. The views out to sea from the many cliffs are just spectacular and it’s one of my very favourite places to walk. If you don’t believe just look at this postcard of Old Harry Rocks!

         For more information about visiting the area take a look at the Jurassic Coast website.

Have you visited the Jurassic Coast? Did you manage to find a fossil to take home?