“Wow!!! It seems like we are inside the Windows XP Wallpaper!” Raai murmured. We were in front of Durdle Door, a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast of Southern England.
England is packed full of natural beauties. The Southern part of England offers a magnificent coastline on the shore of the English Channel. It is famous as the Jurassic Coast stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, about 96 miles (154 km). The coastline spans 185 million years of geological history, coastal erosion having exposed an almost continuous sequence of rock formation covering the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. Because of the outstanding combination of globally significant geological and geomorphological features, the site has been inscribed to UNESCO World Heritage.
Various natural features seen on this stretch of coast include arches, pinnacles, and stack rocks. Durdle Door is one of them. The iconic limestone door was chosen by Microsoft as the wallpaper of Windows XP earlier in this century. Both my partner Raai and I saw that wallpaper in our college days and put it in our bucket list.
In the summer of 2023, Raai visited England to conduct a dance workshop. I was there for some office assignment. After completing all our pre scheduled travels, I decided to give her a surprise and selected Durdle Door for a day out.
Visiting Durdle Door is tough from London, especially for those who cannot drive. Public transport could have been a good option. Wool, the nearest rail station from Durdle Door, is connected to London by train. Bus service from Wool to Durdle Door Park is very frequent. However, train journeys take a long time and the ticket fare of South-western Railways remains always high.
I started looking for a packaged day trip to visit Jurassic Coast. My friend Subhadip suggested that I should check with Angle Tours, a travel agent operated from London. They offered a package by clubbing Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove, and Bournemouth. The package looked fine to us. We paid the travel cost in advance to secure our birth.
As instructed by Angle Tours, we gathered outside of Hounslow Central Station and waited for the vehicle. The coach came on time and we started for our first destination, Durdle Door. It took four hours to reach Durdle Door Park.
After walking a few yards along the rocky path of the beautiful Jurassic Coast, we reached the hilltop and got the first glimpse of the door.
It was a dreamy experience. We were standing atop a hill with a view consisting of gleaming blue sea and endless sky, dusty white limestone cliffs adorned with vivid green flora, rocks arcing and curving in nature’s unpredictable dance.
“Thank you Amlan,” Raai hugged and said to me.
“My pleasure mademoiselle” I replied.
“Let’s walk down the beach” Raai said and we started trekking down the dusty stairs.
“You know, at different times, this area has been a desert, shallow tropical sea and marsh, and the fossilised remains of the various creatures that lived here have been preserved in the rocks.” Raai said.
“Yes, even you know, in some parts of the coast, landslides are common. And it exposed a wide range of fossils, the different rock types each having its own typical fauna and flora, thus providing evidence of how animals and plants evolved in this region.” I replied.
“So, the landslide is kind of blessing in disguise,” Raai said.
By that time, we reached the beach. People from various countries were sprawled out in swimwear, enjoying the sun, and taking a cold dip.
“I will plunge, it will be a great experience to swim in the English Channel.” Raai said and we had a great time in the water followed by a barefoot picnic on the pebbles, nibbling on homemade sandwiches and dry fruit.
The driver of the coach gave us two hours to enjoy Durdle Door. We climbed up and came back to the car park. When the coach came, we boarded again and headed towards Lulworth Cove.
We drove through the beautiful Purbeck village where the houses are built with Purbeck stones and Thatched roof. The car dropped us in the car park and from there we walked down to the coastal inlet.
Lulworth Cove is an almost circular space where sea water comes in & goes out.
“Amlan, you know, the rocks here date from the Upper Jurassic to the Cretaceous (65 million years ago) era”, Raai said.
“Yes,” I replied, “And this is the finest example of a cove as a circular structure has been formed.”
Raai and I started taking photographs. We saw people kayaking, boating, and swimming in the cove. We stayed there for an hour and came back.
The coach started at the scheduled time for Bournemouth, a town in the Dorset & Devon County. The town was crowded by tourists. People were riding on the toy train, Bournemouth Eye but we decided to have our lunch there.
We had lunch with seafood and salad in an open-air restaurant. Finally, we started to come back to London.
Later Raai and I discussed the creation of nature and we should know how to maintain these. If we spoil them by pollution and littering, we will suffer in the end.
Tips:
- You can easily reach to the Jurassic Coast by car but travelling by public transport is time consuming and expensive. Please try to avail a packaged tour if you cannot drive.
- Please do not litter.
- Please carry your own swimming gear as nature provokes you to swim and there is no facility to rent or purchase them.
References:
- https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=1029
- Lonely Planet – United Kingdom
The Tramp 