Chesil Beach and The Fleet

Chesil Beach's 17 miles of pebble and shingle is one of the finest barrier beaches in the world. For thousands of years the beach has stood up to the forces of the Atlantic Ocean and protected The Fleet, the largest tidal lagoon in Great Britain and a site of international importance for its bird and marine life. The formation of the shingle bank is still the subject of debate but the traditional view is that the beach was driven on shore by rising sea levels at the end of the last Ice Age.

The pebbles along the beach increase in size going eastwards and, according to local folklore, smugglers knew exactly where they had landed at night by the size of the pebbles. The coastal road between Weymouth and Abbotsbury provides some of the best locations for admiring the breathtaking views of Chesil Beach and The Fleet.

Portland

The Isle of Portland is home to the world famous fine white limestone called Portland Stone, which has been used to build many well-known buildings such as St Paul's Cathedral in London. The stone was first collected from landslides on the eastern side of the island and later quarrying took place in the north and at Portland Bill. Old quarries such as Tout Quarry provide a fascinating window into the historical workings of the stone and now support a unique mix of flora and fauna, especially orchids and butterflies.

A couple of years ago, dinosaur footprints were discovered for the first time in a working quarry on Portland. Fossil Wood is also often uncovered during quarrying on Portland, a remnant of a time about 144 million years ago when this part of the country was covered in a tropical forest of giant cypress, monkey puzzle trees, cycads and ferns. Another example of the Fossil Forest can be seen to the east of Lulworth Cove, where it is visible on a wide ledge in the cliff.

East Weymouth

The cliffs to the east of Weymouth are formed from Upper Jurassic clays, limestones and sandstones. The beaches between Bowleaze Cove and Osmington Mills contain clearly visible fossilised burrows and ripple marks, providing evidence that Dorset once had a tropical climate similar to the Bahamas today.

An area well-known to geologists is Bran Point between Ringstead and Osmington where oil can be seen seeping onto the surface of the sea as a result of a breach by erosion of the rocks that once formed a natural oil reservoir.

To the east of Ringstead lies White Nothe, a massive cliff dominated by Cretaceous chalk and sandstone on top of Jurassic clays. A small landslide in 1826 created the phenomenon known as "Burning Cliff", when a chemical reaction caused the organic-rich clays to start smouldering.

Our Weymouth B&B is only a 500 metre walk from the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and provides an ideal base to explore what has been described as "some of the finest coastal scenery in Europe".