Durdle Door

The amazing Durdle Door and its accompanying beach

So this post is totally out of chronological order.  But when I was back in Bournemouth at the beginning of August, I met some new friends through couchsurfing.  One great individual that I was fortunate to get together with for the day was Sylvia.  Sylvia is actually Norwegian but has been living in the UK for half of her life.  Anyway, she was so kind as to pick me up and take me hiking along the Jurassic coast for the day.

Sylvia, you are going to have to flap a lot harder if you want to fly!!! :o)

We were so lucky because the weather turned out to be great.  We went to an area where one can find Durdle Door.  Durdle Door is a natural limestone arch  near Lulworthin Dorset, England. It is privately owned by the Welds, a family who own 12,000 acres (50 km²) in Dorset in the name of the Lulworth Estate. It is open to the public. The name Durdle is derived from the Old English ‘thirl’ meaning bore or drill.

Looking in one direction, part of this amazing coast line

The arch has formed on a concordant coastline where bands of rock run parallel to the shoreline. The rock strata are almost vertical, and the bands of rock are quite narrow. Originally a band of resistant Portland limestone ran along the shore, the same band appears one mile along the coast forming the narrow entrance to Lulworth Cove. Behind this is a 120-metre (390 ft) band of weaker, easily eroded rocks, and behind this is a stronger and much thicker band of chalk, which forms the Purbeck Hills.  It really is a fascinating piece of coast and a must visit.

Kayakers negotiate what looked to me to be a pretty precarious path

It was a busy day on this section of the southcoast trail but that didn’t phase us at all.  Not only is the south coast of England absolutely spectacular from a geographical standpoint, but I was with great company to boot.  And Sylvia is one funny, witty lady.  She had me laughing constantly all day long and considering recent events in my life, it was a much needed day of entertainment.  Then again, I love the Norwegians.  They always have a pragmatic “say it like it is” way about talking about life, the universe and everything.  So much more upfront than the British.

Sylvia makes me laugh as she uses wit to make a strange couple smile

The funny thing about this day is that I acquired a lovely sweater that someone had left behind and Sylvia and I almost inherited a rucksack full of all sorts of goodies, but we were oh so kind as to find and return it to the owner.

Now this, the amazing Jurassic Coast

But I digress.  This little hike up and down the steep slopes along the cliffside was good fun.  We spent about 2 hours lazing in the sunshine on one of the cliff side peaks, saw the Olympics sailing race from afar and watched with great curiousity military helicopters and boats roam about checking out boats on the water and especially this one stationary boat that looked abandoned or that it was burnt out or that it could have been a carrier for refugees.  We will never know what that boat was about but it provided us with a couple of hours of speculation.  We decided in the end that it was where all the ‘down and outs’ of London and been stowed away for the time of the Olympics so that the International public did not see them.  But that would just make for a very interesting story.

The mystery ship being patrolled by a military boat ... we will never know ....

Friends we met along the way

Anyway, another good day and another good friend.  When I return to Bournemouth we are sure to go hiking and get together again.  How lucky am I?

Our hike back towards Durdle Door ... what a beautiful day, beautiful coastline and beautiful people