As well as its collection of outstanding Beaches and iconic Landmarks, the Jurassic Coast is home to a set of thriving Towns and Villages, each with their own unique charms and character. Much of this stems from each place’s particular Geology, which has informed centuries worth of trade, industry, tourism and culture.
Think of Portland, whose streets resonate with the island’s long and storied history of stone working. Dorchester, the heart of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex, is home to a historic museum and multiple pre-historic sites. Weymouth, whose history of beach tourism dates back 200 years to the days of King George III, and nearby Abbotsbury, where Benedictine monks set up the world’s only managed colony of nesting mute swans (now the renowned Abbotsbury Swannery) nearly a thousand years ago.
To the west of Dorset, Lyme Regis and neighbouring Charmouth are prime fossil-hunting country, whose streets ring with the names of Mary Anning and William Buckland alongside modern-day fossil hunting legends.
Over the border into Devon, Beer is a historic stone-working village in the manner of Portland, along with its fascinating history of smuggling! Genteel Sidmouth is where the architecture of the Regency Period meets the stunning scarlet geology of the Triassic Period.
Wherever you’re headed, each town boasts enough Things to Do, Food and Drink outlets and Places to Stay to keep every visitor satisfied.
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