Lulworth Cove

Welcome to Lulworth Cove, one of the most popular sights along Dorset’s Jurassic Coast – a Unesco World Heritage site known for its amazing geological features. 

Lulworth Cove sits here on England’s south coast on what’s known as a concordant coastline. It means there are layers of different types of rock which run parallel to the coast. Here, the sea has gradually forced its way through a weakness in the harder outer Portland limestone layer, dating back to the Jurassic period, before hitting the softer clays and sandstone layer behind it, where the cove widens. It slowed when it hit the more resistant chalk layer, formed during the Cretaceous period, at the back of the cove.

This sunset picture illustrates the movement of waves which have helped sculpt the cove over thousands of years. As they enter through its narrow entrance, they bend into an arc shape, cutting out that horseshoe-shaped hollow.

Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, southern England. The cove is one of the world's finest examples of such a landform, and is a World Heritage Site and tourist location with approximately 500,000 visitors every year, of whom about 30 percent visit in July and August. It is close to the rock arch of Durdle Door and other Jurassic Coast sites.

The rocks here have been laid down over 150 million years but have been contorted and sculpted by tectonic movement and natural erosion, leaving steeply tilted layers and striking coastal landforms which now attract hundreds of thousands of visitors. While it is always busy during the summer, this year there have been attempts to limit visitor numbers to this part of the coast due to the coronavirus pandemic, after crowds flocked there when lockdown was eased .Lulworth Cove is world famous for its unique geology and landforms including the Lulworth Crumple and Stair Hole. Open every day, we welcome thousands of people each year who come to enjoy the panoramic views and crystal clear waters on this stretch of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.