Fossil beaches, chalk and limestone cliffs and harbour towns along the Dorset and East Devon World Heritage coast
The Jurassic Coast is the Dorset and East Devon Coast, England’s only natural World Heritage Site, which UNESCO inscribed in 2001 for its rocks, fossils and landforms. Visit Dorset gives its length as about 95 miles, from Old Harry Rocks in Dorset to Exmouth in Devon, and the South West Coast Path runs along all of it. This guide covers six bases from east to west: Swanage and Purbeck, Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door and Wareham, Weymouth and Portland, Bridport and West Bay, Lyme Regis and Charmouth, and Seaton, Beer and Sidmouth in East Devon.
Cliffs here erode all the time, which is why the rocks are exposed, and it also means cliff falls and mudslides are a real hazard. Visit Dorset advises staying away from cliff edges and from the foot of the cliffs. Check current advice before fossil hunting or walking below cliffs. Opening days and access to some places, including parts of the Lulworth area, change through the year, so check each official site before you travel.
Areas
Each area has its own mini guide with 80 sights, places to eat and drink, and where to stay across the city.
A Victorian seaside town, a ruined castle and the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast
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A famous rock arch, an almost circular cove and a Saxon walled town
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A Georgian harbour town, a wide sandy bay and the Isle of Portland
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A market town, a small harbour and the cliffs of Golden Cap
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Fossils, Mary Anning and the curve of the Cobb
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Chalk cliffs, a fishing cove, a seaside tramway and a Regency-era resort
Open the mini guide →Sights
A sight from each area. Every area guide lists the rest, with directions and official links.
Steam and diesel trains run between Norden, Corfe Castle and Swanage, with stops at Harman’s Cross and Herston Halt.
Cove on the Lulworth Estate, owned by the Weld family, next to West Lulworth on the Jurassic Coast.
Wide, gently sloping sandy beach along Weymouth Bay beside the Esplanade.
Museum in a 16th-century building on South Street known as the Castle.
Museum on the site of Mary Anning’s family home, with fossils, local history and guided fossil walks.
Three-mile electric tramway between Seaton, Colyford and Colyton alongside the Axe estuary and River Coly.
Norman castle ruin above the village, in a gap in the Purbeck Hills; besieged twice in the Civil War and now National Trust.
Limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast, privately owned by the Weld family’s Lulworth Estate and open to visitors.
1 / 12Animal attractions, railways, science centres, beaches and caves from our the Jurassic Coast guide, grouped by type. We hold no age ratings or child prices: check each place’s own site for age limits, height rules and family tickets.
Monkey WorldApe rescue centre, Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door & Wareham
Lodmoor Nature ReserveWetland reserve, Weymouth & Portland
Abbotsbury SwannerySwan colony, Weymouth & Portland
Lyme Regis Marine AquariumAquarium, Lyme Regis & Charmouth
Swanage RailwayHeritage railway, Swanage, Studland & Purbeck
Corfe Castle Model VillageModel village, Swanage, Studland & Purbeck
Seaton TramwayNarrow-gauge tramway, Seaton, Beer & Sidmouth
The Etches CollectionFossil museum, Swanage, Studland & Purbeck
Lulworth Cove Heritage CentreVisitor centre, Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door & Wareham
Chesil Beach CentreVisitor centre, Weymouth & Portland
Dinosaurland Fossil MuseumFossil museum, Lyme Regis & Charmouth
Charmouth Heritage Coast CentreVisitor centre, Lyme Regis & Charmouth
Studland BeachBeach, Swanage, Studland & Purbeck
Chapman’s PoolCove, Swanage, Studland & Purbeck
Lulworth CoveCove, Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door & Wareham
Stair HoleCove and rock folds, Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door & Wareham
Weymouth BeachBeach, Weymouth & Portland
Church Ope CoveCove, Weymouth & Portland
Hive BeachBeach, Bridport & West Bay
Eype MouthBeach, Bridport & West Bay
Beer Quarry CavesUnderground quarries, Seaton, Beer & SidmouthPractical help: travelling with children and where to stay in the Jurassic Coast.
Theatre
6 theatres and performance venues across 5 areas: see where each one is, how to get there and where to find what is on.
Filter 6 venues by area, type of show and step-free access.
Open the directory →One link to each venue's own programme page, plus seasonal highlights.
See what's on →A seafront theatre on the Esplanade with a 988-seat auditorium, touring shows, films and a Christmas pantomime.
Venue page →Itineraries
Short routes that stitch the areas together.
Getting there
Most visitors arrive by train or car and finish the journey by bus, taxi or on foot, because the coast itself has no through railway. Always check the operator for current times, fares and disruption.
Visit Dorset says South Western Railway runs trains from London Waterloo to Weymouth, calling at Wareham and Dorchester South among others, and an hourly service from Waterloo to Exeter St Davids; it says to change to a frequent bus at Axminster station for Lyme Regis, about 5 miles away. Great Western Railway’s Heart of Wessex Line brings trains from Bristol to Dorchester West and Weymouth. Visit Dorset adds that CrossCountry links Manchester with Bournemouth.
The Swanage Railway runs steam and diesel trains from Norden through Corfe Castle to Swanage, with stations at Harman’s Cross and a halt at Herston. Its site lists parking at Purbeck Park next to Norden station. Check its timetable, as services follow a seasonal programme.
Visit Dorset names the Jurassic Coaster and the Purbeck Breezer as buses suited to walkers, and says contactless payment works on Purbeck Breezer, More Buses and First Dorset services including the Jurassic Coaster. First Bus lists route X51 from Weymouth to Axminster via Dorchester, Bridport and Lyme Regis, and X53 from Weymouth to Axminster via Abbotsbury, Burton Bradstock, West Bay, Bridport, Charmouth and Lyme Regis. Its timetable page also lists a Lyme Regis Park and Ride. Timetables change, so check the operator.
Visit Dorset says National Express coach journeys from London Victoria Coach Station or London airports start at 2 hours 15 minutes to Bournemouth, the first major stop east of the county, and that most large Dorset towns have a stop.
Visit Dorset says the M5 brings visitors from the west and joins the A37 at Yeovil or the A35 at Honiton, and that routes from the Midlands and north use the M3, M27 and A31. Visit Dorset says there are no motorway services once you enter Dorset. Dorset Council runs most car parks except in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and Swanage, and Visit Dorset says charges apply in most of them. The Lulworth Estate runs its own paid car parks at Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door.
Visit Dorset says Bournemouth Airport, near Christchurch, has scheduled and charter flights and a number 737 bus to Bournemouth town centre and railway station. It also lists Exeter, Southampton, Bristol, Gatwick and Heathrow airports as ways to reach the county.
Journey times and routes on this page come from the operators’ and Visit Dorset’s own pages. We do not publish timetables or fares.
Visit Dorset says the South West Coast Path runs the length of the Jurassic Coast. Many places in this guide sit on it, and walkers can go one way and return by bus.
Visit Dorset recommends both for walkers who want a section of the path, and suggests sitting on the top deck. Check Traveline or the operator for current routes.
The Swanage Railway links Norden, Corfe Castle and Swanage, and Seaton Tramway runs between Seaton, Colyford and Colyton along the Axe estuary.
Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door have separate car parks run by the Lulworth Estate, which charges for parking all year. Durdle Door car park cannot take coaches.
The Ministry of Defence publishes monthly times of live firing and road closures around the Lulworth ranges. Do not enter the danger area when the range is in use.
Morebus, First and the Jurassic Coaster
Best time to go
Wikipedia says about 30 per cent of Lulworth Cove’s roughly half a million visitors a year come in July and August, and Visit Dorset says fossils are most plentiful on the Charmouth and Lyme Regis beaches after winter storms. Storms also make cliffs less stable, so weather and cliff advice matters in every season. Many attractions have a summer and a winter pattern, so check each website.
Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre lists a separate March opening pattern from its summer pattern, and many attractions begin their season in spring. Check each place’s site.
Beaches, harbours and the Lulworth car parks are at their busiest. Book parking, tables and rooms early and arrive at popular places early in the day.
Seasonal sites close or shorten their hours: Beer Quarry Caves say on their site that they are open until 31 October 2026. Autumn storms can close paths and some attractions.
Some attractions close for winter, including Lulworth Castle, which closes from 24 December until 1 February 2027 according to its site. Visit Dorset says winter storms bring fossils onto the beaches, and also make cliffs less stable. Check current advice before fossil hunting or walking below cliffs.
Day trips
Ideas for a day away from the Jurassic Coast. Check the operators for times and tickets.
County town with Dorset Museum and Art Gallery, which Visit Dorset says shows Dorset fossils including the Weymouth Bay Pliosaur.
dorsetmuseum.org →FAQ
The Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site, inscribed by UNESCO in 2001 for its rocks, fossils and landforms. Visit Dorset gives its length as about 95 miles, from Old Harry Rocks to Exmouth.
Visit Dorset says the best places are the beaches at Charmouth and Lyme Regis, and that elsewhere fossils are either absent or unsafe or not allowed to collect. Look on the beach, never in the cliffs, and consider a guided walk from Lyme Regis Museum or the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre.
Visit Dorset’s advice is to stay away from any cliff edge and from the base of cliffs, because rock falls can happen at any time, and not to climb or walk over landslide debris. The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre warns that its cliffs are very unstable. Check current advice before fossil hunting or walking below cliffs.
Yes. The Lulworth Estate, which owns both, says Durdle Door is open to the public all year, with no beach access after 9pm or dusk, and that parking is paid. It asks visitors not to enter the caves at the foot of the cliffs.
They can. The Ministry of Defence publishes monthly Lulworth firing times with road closures and live firing, and warns walkers to stay clear of the north half of Mupe Bay because of rock fall. Check its page before planning walks east of Lulworth.
The jurassiccoast.org home page says the Jurassic Coast Trust is no longer in operation and points visitors to Dorset Council’s World Heritage Principal Officer.
Partly. Trains reach Wareham, Dorchester, Weymouth and Axminster, the Swanage Railway reaches Swanage, and buses run along much of the coast. East Devon villages and some coves are easier by car or on foot, so check Traveline.
Four to six days gives time for two or three bases without constant travelling. Swanage, Lulworth and Weymouth sit close together in Dorset, while Lyme Regis, Seaton and Sidmouth are at the western end.
Some are and some are not. Every venue in this guide had a working website showing it was operating when checked on 25 October 2026, but seasons end, so check before you travel.
Nearby places
Our closest other guides, by straight-line distance between centres. Road and rail distances are longer: check a journey planner.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
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