Lulworth, West and East

Coastal arch at Durdle Door, on the Dorset coast, England. Beds of resistant limestone form the Durdle promontory. Weaknesses in the limestone, such as faults and joints, have been exploited by forces of erosion and mass wasting (downslope movements of loose materials such as sand). The sea has eroded the limestone to form first a cave, and finally an arch, as the cave reaches through to the far side of the Durdle promontory.

At Stair Hole, on the Durdle Promontory in Dorset, England, the sedimentary beds of Portland and Purbeck limestone have been folded into a step- or stair-like shape. This was the result of tectonic movements during the Alpine mountain-building period, 30 million years ago. The folding has also fractured the limestone, and the lines of weakness thus created were later exploited by marine erosion to form small arches in the limestone.

The shingle beach at Lulworth Cove, Dorset, England. Wave action wears down rugged, sharp stones into smaller rounded pebbles. As the process of attrition continues, the pebbles become progressively smaller and smoother.

These unique deposits are formed by the growth of bacteria around old tree stumps. The bacteria have become fossilized, and now form a fossil forest in Dorset, England. The fossil forest is even more spectacular because of the concentration of so many examples in a relatively small area.

Lulworth Cove, Dorset, is a very popular tourist attraction on account of its remarkable geological formations. However, the sheer number of tourists places great strain on the area. Some of the land has been built on, to make a large car park for coaches and cars, and footpath erosion is caused by the volume of people walking between Lulworth Cove and other nearby attractions, such as Stair Hole and Durdle Door.

Two villages in Dorset, southwest England. West Lulworth is 12 km/7 mi east of Wareham. Nearby are Lulworth Cove, a bay about 450 m/1,500 ft across almost enclosed by hills, and the natural rock arch known as Durdle Door. East Lulworth includes the ruins of Lulworth Castle (destroyed by fire in 1929). There is an army tank firing range in the vicinity.

The Roman Catholic chapel in East Lulworth, built in 1786, was the first to be built by royal permission after the Reformation (apart from those attached to foreign embassies).