Cultural

The Jurassic Coast is a Natural World Heritage Site and there is enough cultural richness here to satisfy even the most discerning culture vulture.

Mining and Stone-Working

Let’s start with the area’s rich history of mining and stone-working, geological industries that have been woven into the fabric of the coast and its towns, villages and people across centuries.

Visits to Beer Quarry Caves, Portland Museum and Winspit Quarry all offer fascinating insights into this hard and gruelling activity that defined much of the working life of the Jurassic Coast, and can still be seen in action to this day.

Professional Fossil Collecting

Paired with the coast’s centuries-long history of stone-working is its history of professional fossil collecting, which we’ve collected under the banner of Fossil Conservation.

These palaeo heroes, whose lineage runs from Mary Anning and William Buckland to Steve Etches and Lizzie Hingley, have contributed towards the Jurassic Coast being world-renowned as the birthplace of palaeontology. This ongoing work to rescue, conserve and prepare fossils before the sea claims them forever is represented across the coast through our cohort of outstanding Museums and Visitor Centres.

A Literary Haven

The Jurassic Coast has also served as a literary haven across the years, with renowned authors including Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen, John Fowles and Enid Blyton all finding their voice here at one point or another.

Visit the 800 year-old Cobb in Lyme Regis (setting of Fowles’ The French Lieutenant’s Woman) or one of Hardy’s frost-bitten Wessex landscapes and you’ll see why the coast has always served as an inspiration for the written word. Today, popular annual events such as Bridport Literary Festival and Budleigh Salterton Literature Festival keep the tradition alive.

Human History

In addition to its Mesozoic delights, the Jurassic Coast plays host to remarkable remnants of human history from across the ages. From the Iron Age hillfort of Woodbury Castle in East Devon to Dorchester’s Maumbury Rings – a Neolithic henge - to the spectacular, postcard-ready Corfe Castle, there’s something to satisfy the appetite of any history buff no matter their specialism.

Turning to the 20^th century, a visit to Tyneham in Purbeck, The Tank Museum in Bovington or one of the coast’s WWII sites (such as Fort Henry near Swanage) shows there is no shortage of significant recent history on offer here either.

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Lyme Regis Museum

Address

Bridge Street, Lyme Regis, Dorset, DT7 3QA

Telephone
01297 443370

Lyme Regis

Enjoying a stunning seafront location on the world-famous Jurassic Coast with fantastic views over Lyme Bay.
At Lyme Regis Museum you’ll find fossils galore in the new interactive geology gallery, a new learning centre (great fun for families),…
Spyway Dinosaur Footprints

Address

Langton Matravers, Swanage, Dorset, BH19 3HG

info@jurassiccoast.org

Swanage

Hidden away in Purbeck, within a stone's throw of the Jurassic Coast, is the Spyway Dinosaur Footprints. Nestled alongside a working quarry, and easily accessible from the Priest's Way walking path, these incredible footprints were made by Jurassic…
Eerie-on-sea Monster Museum Tour

Address

Bridge Street, Lyme Regis, Dorset, DT7 3QA

Telephone
01297 443370

walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Lyme Regis

This Halloween, families will be able to search for strange creatures and spooky spectres at Lyme Regis Museum as part of the national Eerie-on-Sea Monster Museum Tour
Fairlynch Museum

Address

27 Fore Street, Budleigh Salterton, Devon, EX9 6NP

Budleigh Salterton

At the Fairlynch Museum (one of only a few thatched museums in the UK), you can find out about the ancient red cliffs of Budleigh Salterton which bridge the Permian/Triassic boundary, when the greatest mass extinction ever happened!
Dinosaur Footprints Walk

Address

Square and Compass, Worth Matravers, Dorset, BH19 3LF

Telephone
01308 807 000

info@jurassiccoast.org

Worth Matravers

Join the Jurassic Coast Trust’s expert Ambassadors for leisurely, family-friendly lunchtime walks to the Spyway Dinosaur Footprints, just outside Worth Matravers in Purbeck.
Lulworth Fossil Forest

Address

As the Jurassic Period drew to a close, sea levels were falling. Shallow tropical seas gave way to coastal plains and for a brief period - around 145 million years ago - a forest grew in the area now known as Purbeck. The evidence for the existence…
The Ammonite Pavement

Address

Lyme Regis, Dorset, DT7 3RH

Lyme Regis

Taking a short walk west along Monmouth Beach at low tide will bring you to the Ammonite Pavement - a number of limestone ledges, washed clear by the sea.
Wareham Town Museum

Address

Town Hall, East Street, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 4NS

Telephone
01929 553448

Wareham

Wareham Town Museum's geology display shows how the Wytch Farm oil field (the largest onshore oilfield in western Europe) is closely linked to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
Portland Museum

Address

217 Wakeham, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1HS

Telephone
01305 821804

Portland

Visit Portland Museum and find out about the history of quarrying on Portland, and the world renowned building stone which has been used in many iconic buildings around the world including St Paul’s Cathedral and the UN buildings in New York.
Swanage Museum & Heritage Centre

Address

The Square, Swanage, Dorset, BH19 2LJ

Telephone
01929 421427

Swanage

In the Swanage Museum and Heritage Centre, formerly the old seafront market building, you can see dinosaur footprints and discover more about the local stone industry, as well as the eminent Victorians from Swanage who all had their roots in the…
Tout Quarry

Address

Tout Quarry, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2LN

Portland

Discover over 60 hidden sculptures in Tout Quarry, one of only two remaining on Portland where the famous Portland Stone was quarried using old methods.
Sidmouth Museum

Address

Hope Cottage, Church Street, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 8LY

Telephone
01395 516139

Sidmouth

At Sidmouth Museum you can see rare reptile fossils and amphibian bones which have been found on the beaches, including the remains of the Rhynchosaur, a curious herbivore reptile.
Honiton Museum

Address

High Street, Honiton, Devon, EX14 1PG

Telephone
01404 44966

Honiton

At Honiton Museum come and see the Honiton Hippo and even remains of elephants - 140,000 years ago, conditions here were similar to what we associate with parts of Africa today. Fossils from the inland area near Honiton are much younger than those…
Horn Park Quarry National Nature Reserve Open Day

Address

Whitcombe Road, Beaminster, Dorset, DT8 3NB

Telephone
01308 863623

Beaminster

Horn Park Quarry is the UK’s smallest National Nature Reserve (NNR) and is recognised for its exceptional in-situ fossils, dating from the Jurassic of 170 million years ago, when this area was a warm tropical sea. Located on Horn Park Business Park…
Bridport Museum

Address

South Street, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3NR

Telephone
01308 458703

Bridport

The small Jurassic Coast gallery in Bridport Museum boasts some wonderful specimens of local fossils including ammonites, starfish and even a plesiosaur. All of these specimens were discovered just a few miles from the museum and show how amazingly…
Jurassic Art and Craft Fayre

Address

Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, Lower Sea Ln, Charmouth, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 6LL

Telephone
01297 560772

info@charmouth.org

Charmouth, Bridport

All are welcome at Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre's Jurassic Art and Craft Fayre on Saturday 19th November, from 10am-4pm.
Shop till you drop for knitted and stitched gifts, Christmas decorations, jewellery, books, homemade cakes and preserves and…
West Bay Memories Exhibition Open Days

Address

The Chapel on the Beach, W Bay Rd, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 4EN

Telephone
01308 427288

info@westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk

West Bay, Bridport

This winter the Centre is inviting visitors to relive their “West Bay Memories” in a new exhibition. The exhibition uses maps, photographs, stories and objects that have been shared with the Centre by local people. On our open days we invite…
The Breeding Birds of the Bridport Area

Address

The Salt House, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 4HB

Telephone
01308 427288

info@westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk

Bridport

The Breeding Birds of the Bridport Area - a talk at the Salt House, West Bay 17th Nov, 7.30pm
In 2021, one of the biggest and most comprehensive surveys ever undertaken of the birds of a British urban area was completed for Bridport and West…
Buried in Time Exhibition

Address

The Chapel on the Beach, West Bay Rd, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 4EN

Telephone
01308427288

info@westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk

West Bay, Bridport

Buried in Time celebrates the 20th anniversary of the World Heritage Coast designation and features the coastal geology of the West Bay area..
Visitors can explore the history buried beneath our feet, and discover how the local fossils have…
Winter Art Exhibition at the Wild Chesil Centre

Address

Wild Chesil Centre, Portland Beach Road, Portland, Dorset, DT4 9XE

Telephone
01305 206191

chesilbeach@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk

Portland

Join the Fine Foundation Wild Chesil Centre for this exhibition inspired by Dorset's incredible wildlife and beautiful natural land and seascapes.