South Coast Connections

The Jurassic Coast is England's first and only Natural World Heritage Site. Covering 95 miles of coastline from East Devon and across Dorset, displaying 185 million years of the Earth's history, World Heritage status was achieved because the Jurassic Coast provides a unique insight into Earth Sciences: it shows a geological ‘walk through time’ spanning the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.  

Dorset's ancient military & naval history is of interest to many as we played a very important role during the WWI & WWII, and our waters are a Naval History Museum in their own right, with many divers investigating anything from the wrecks of ancient pirate ships to torpedoed submarines!

King George III effectively triggered the birth of mass tourism by regularly holidaying in Weymouth and Lyme Regis from 1789, Weymouth, Bournemouth and many of Dorset's coastal towns and beaches regularly win high accolades for tourism to this day.

Lyme Regis' Mary Anning, of the famous 'She sells seashells on the sea shore' tongue-twister fame did far more than that - she discovered the first whole dinosaur fossil, turning the world of science on its head by proving that the world has been around for a very long time! 

Thomas Hardy's books  mainly set in Dorset, but did you know that most of Enid Blyton's wonderful books were set here too? We didn't when we were young, but like millions of children from around the world, we headed off out in search of adventure and smugglers!

In fact, Dorset hasn't changed much at all over the centuries, it's largely unspoilt and it's just such a great place to explore - you can try out new activities or to just relax 'Far from the Madding Crowd', breathe some fresh sea and country air and eat some scrumptious local food.

Bridport, West Bay and Burton Bradstock are now known as 'Notting Hill by-the-Sea', Weymouth & Portland hosted the saling events for the 2012 Olympics and its legacy lives on through the new National Sailing Academy, alongside Team GB. Sandbanks is one of Britain's most glamorous places and yet it's still an affordable place to visit, you can check out the newly opened Rick Stein restaurant, or grab a Dorset picnic and take a walk along Bournemouth's beautiful Chines, which certainly gives even glam Juan-les-Pins a run for its money! 

Please visit our 'About Dorset' and 'Dorset Food & Drink' pages for lots more information about our fascinating and beautiful coast.