Dorset and the Jurassic Coast..
I’m really enjoying a break before Christmas in Dorset, only a couple of counties east of Cornwall but so very different. I’m here with Poppy, her BB with Lottie the white German Shepherd. It’s great to be exploring a very different coastline. Dorset is of course famous for it’s Jurassic coast and the numerous fossils that can be found here.
Mary Anning found the first Icthyosaur skeleton at the age of 12 and became quite a celebrity. Despite having no education, she became quite the expert on fossils. Fossils were the family business in Lyme Regis, sold as curios to the wealthy middle and upper classes. Lyme Regis had become a very fashionable holiday location in the late 18th and early 19th Century. This was, to a large extent a consequence of the French Revolution which had made travel to Europe (the preferred destination for people with a bit of cash prior to this time) a little problematic to say the least.
The fossils found here generated a huge amount of interest not least because at the time, the majority in England still believed in creationism and the discovery of the fossilised skeletons of these strange creatures raised lots of doubts about the age of the Earth (a tad more than 2000 years old clearly) and the origin and nature of life on the planet.
The following pictures were taken despite the very grey and largely wet conditions we’re experiencing here in Dorset but then, it is December.. :-)
The picture below shows the back of the fisherman’s college which forms part of the Cobb, the name for the sea wall at Lyme, made famous by Meryl Streep, standing at the end, waiting for her French lieutenant..
Sony A7R 27mm f/4 1/100 sec. ISO-100
Beach huts along the front at Swanage..
Nikon D800 24mm f/11 1/50 sec. ISO-100
Durdle Door, an arch in the Portland limestone rock, possibly formed as long ago as 150 million years with the sea surging through..
Nikon D800 14mm f/11 1/50 sec. ISO-100
Portland Bill lighthouse, taken on a wild and windy day with large waves and sea spray that did a very good job of soaking me..
Nikon D800 36mm f/11 1/30 sec. ISO-100
Cornwall Photographic 
Loved the boat and the lighthouse photo! Perfect!
December 17, 2015 at 7:17 pm
Thank you! :-)
December 17, 2015 at 7:23 pm
The Cobb image is gorgeous (though I would argue that its fame comes from the novel by John Fowles, but maybe that is because I always prefer the book to a film version) and much as I adore beach-huts these look as though they were built by Fischer-Price! No argument from me about the last photo, a wonderful winter stormy day with a lighthouse AND a boat. Fabulous photos as always Adrian :)
Have a good ‘un wherever, whatever you do!
December 17, 2015 at 7:36 pm
Thank you Jude. You’re probably right about the book though the film with its huge popularity definitely brought Dorset and Lyme particularly to a very wide audience. No arguments from me on the Fischer-price thing though I love those primary colours! :-)
December 17, 2015 at 7:52 pm
How lucky you are to have been at Durdle Door. I always get a kick of such places.
Thank you so much for sharing. It sounds like an empty phrase but I mean it.
All the best,
Hanna
December 17, 2015 at 8:18 pm
Thank you so much Hanna. I really appreciate your comment! :-)
December 17, 2015 at 8:51 pm
Gorgeous photos. Really wonderful images
December 17, 2015 at 8:32 pm
Thank you Pauline! Much appreciated! :-)
December 17, 2015 at 8:51 pm
I enjoyed it a lot, great!
December 17, 2015 at 11:18 pm
Thank you Soli! :-)
December 18, 2015 at 7:24 am
Portland Bill and Durdle Door really show the wildness of the Dorset coast, and the weather you were having! Thanks for sharing Adrian.
December 18, 2015 at 12:48 am
Thank you Lee! Not the best of weather for photography but it’s great to be on the coast when it’s like this. :-)
December 18, 2015 at 7:25 am
What a beautiful place. I must visit one of these days. Love all the images but my favourite is the last one.
December 18, 2015 at 1:45 am
Thank you Edith! :-)
December 18, 2015 at 7:26 am
Loved the beach huts and the boats Adrian. Wonderful captures.
December 18, 2015 at 2:39 am
Thank you Tina! :-)
December 18, 2015 at 7:26 am
Dorset looks like its wild and wooly too….love the steely grey colours! : )) Trees
December 18, 2015 at 3:21 am
Thank you Trees! :-)
December 18, 2015 at 7:27 am
It’s a great, colorful place. Reminds me I only did half of the planned trip last year and should come back to visit the rest soon :)
December 18, 2015 at 8:46 am
Thank you Philipp! I hope that you do get to visit again soon, it is indeed a great place to visit! :-)
December 18, 2015 at 9:34 pm
What marvelous pictures. Enjoyed them very much.
December 18, 2015 at 9:24 am
Thank you Shimon! I’m enjoying my visit very much!
December 18, 2015 at 9:34 pm
I just love Durdle Dor – never seen a photo of it like this before and the others are amazing – get them on postcards quick.
December 18, 2015 at 10:43 am
Thank you very much for your lovely compliment! I really should do some postcards one of these days. :-)
December 18, 2015 at 9:35 pm
Lovely photos – so nice to see it stormy and wild. So often the photos I see are in perfect weather and as nice as they are, yours are far more atmospheric!
December 18, 2015 at 11:00 am
Thank you James. It’s surprising what you can do with what on the face of it, appears to be a very grey, dull, flat and quite a wet kind of a day. It you can keep your equipment dry, there are always photos to be had.
December 18, 2015 at 9:43 pm
I love the picture, especially the one with the wave and the boat. We were thinking about going to devon or dorset in february. Do you think it could be pleasant at that time of the year ?
December 18, 2015 at 11:04 am
The last photo is really beautiful!!
December 18, 2015 at 12:29 pm
Thank you Mercedes! :-)
December 18, 2015 at 10:03 pm
Right all caught up – it will probably be Spring before I get the chance to do the same again. With your Iceland venture – you are doing exactly what I had intended when I left the RAF. I have walked down a different path which has improved my technical skill but limited creativity as I am up against the clock. The move to Iceland looks like the obvious choice and the quality of your website shines through. Good luck my website pulling it all together is started and should be online no later than the Spring. But I am earning my living from photography which was only a dream 5 years ago. Good luck and Merry Christmas.
December 18, 2015 at 2:58 pm
I’m all caught up too.. well almost now. Thank you very much for all your comments. I’ll not be moving to Iceland, just teaching my courses there so a lot of EasyJet travel to look forward to, hopefully. The first is coming up in a few weeks.. seems to have come along so fast. I will look forward to seeing your website when it’s finished. All this takes a lot of time and you have been very busy with your real estate work which is great. As you said, earning your living from photography and that’s what we all want to do. I hope you’ve had a smashing Christmas day and enjoy the remainder of the holiday. Wishing you much success in the year to come!! :-)
December 25, 2015 at 5:52 pm
I love the photo with the boat and beach…they are very beautiful andintresting…
December 18, 2015 at 4:36 pm
Some really lovely pictures from our days out ChillB ! It’s been a great opportunity to see a new part of the coastline for us too .
Those waves and wind down there at Durdle Door kept us on our toes literally . I love the lacy edge of the tideline … and YAY … glad you managed to capture the full on surge through the *door* ! Fabulous x
December 18, 2015 at 6:38 pm
Thank you Poppy! It’s been a fun week that’s for sure. Despite the weather, we’ve captured some nice photographs which can only be considered a bonus given how enjoyable the visit has been in so many other ways! :-) x
December 18, 2015 at 10:05 pm
Looks like such a beautiful place to spend a few days with good friends, Adrian. I especially love the lighthouse photo, and those beach hut doors are so jolly. :)
December 18, 2015 at 9:25 pm
Thank you Sylvia! I hadn’t been to this part of Dorset since I was a child. I used to sail at Sandbanks in my late teens but that was all about the sailing, not touring and taking pictures. It’s been a real pleasure exploring this amazing coastline with as you say, good friends! :-)
December 18, 2015 at 10:07 pm
Interesting post and great moody shots. I like the understated nature of your images. Are all the rocks there Jurassic I wonder, or are there much older or much younger rocks.
December 19, 2015 at 3:25 pm
Thank you Mike. I’m not sure of the exact geology. I will check with a geologist friend of mine. This area is of great interest for an awful lot of reasons.
December 24, 2015 at 11:40 am
Lovely bright colours and beautiful landscape. Merry Christmas to you, Adrian!
December 19, 2015 at 6:24 pm
Thank you Bente! A very Merry Christmas to you too!
December 24, 2015 at 11:40 am
Great shots Adrian
December 20, 2015 at 12:35 pm
Thank you Mark!
December 24, 2015 at 11:41 am
Merry Christmas Adrian 😊
December 25, 2015 at 8:32 am
And to you Mark and the very best for the new year ahead! :-)
December 25, 2015 at 6:07 pm
As you say, the colours of the beach huts are brilliant! Bad pun!!
Great timing with catching the surge but your last, with the boats and lighthouse, is my favourite as it is so wonderfully atmospheric.
Shame I didn’t know you were heading this way but please let me know if you intend a revisit as it would be great to meet up :)
December 20, 2015 at 1:50 pm
Terribly behind.. thank you so much Noeline. I will certainly let you know next time I visit and I’m sure that will not be long. Once you’re in Cornwall, everywhere seems so very far psychologically speaking (I guess it’s why, even in the 21st century, an awful lot of Cornish people have yet to leave Cornwall) but of course, it’s only a couple of hours away and I saw an awful lot I’d like to photography in better weather. I hope you’ve had a smashing Christmas day and enjoy the rest of the holiday! Wishing you all the very best for the new year!!
December 25, 2015 at 5:56 pm
Really wonderful and atmospheric images. A great county to be in what ever the weather. Wishing you the very best for a wonderful Christmas. Regards, James
December 22, 2015 at 6:52 pm
Wishing the same to you James. With turkey consumed along with a tipple or two, I hope you’ve had a smashing day!
December 25, 2015 at 5:57 pm
loved the article n pictures…totally sold on the idea of visiting it…it was that good…
December 23, 2015 at 10:07 am
Thank you very much Jay!
December 25, 2015 at 5:57 pm
December 24, 2015 at 1:33 pm
And a very Merry Christmas to the Fabulous Four of Cley! :-)
December 24, 2015 at 2:02 pm
A great set of Images Adrian. My brother-in-law lives in Lyme so we have become familiar with this coastline. Have yet to be on the Cobb in a storm (strange what we long for as photographers)! All the very best for Christmas and the New Year.
December 24, 2015 at 3:44 pm
And to you Andy! I hope you’ve had a lovely Chrismas day in your new home and all the very best for the year ahead. The editors at National Geographic have informed me that my photograph of the Iceland Church will probably be their picture of the day on the 31st so a nice way to end my year. Poppy mentioned that you have family in Lyme. It’s a superb town for a photographer. The Cobb in a storm would be interesting that’s for sure. The waves were coming over the top of the wall whilst we were there but only just enough to get you wet rather than enough to make a really cool photograph. Maybe next time!! :-)
December 25, 2015 at 6:03 pm
Congratulations on the news from National Geographic – an excellent way to end the year as you say and hopefully your talent will be rewarded further in 2016.
December 26, 2015 at 12:42 pm
That’s very kind Andy, Thank you!
December 28, 2015 at 7:32 pm
I love these photos Adrian. Especially the beach huts – perfectly done! – and Durdle Door – funny name! Gorgeous water in that one, but each element is so well pictured – water, sand, rock, sky.
December 24, 2015 at 10:19 pm
Thank you Lynn. I loved the beach huts too! They’d look great on a sunny day! With an onshore wind, keeping the lens free of water was the main challenge with the Durdle Door shot but I’ve had good training in Cornwall and Iceland.. this was easy in comparison to some of the shots I’ve managed! ;-)
December 25, 2015 at 6:21 pm
Epic shots! There are so many pictures of Durdle Door around these days that it’s hard to do so something different.. But you have managed it and I think it’s a super capture. Respect!
January 3, 2016 at 10:39 am
second and third pictures are outstanding :)
January 5, 2016 at 8:53 am
What a beautiful lighthouse and the wind has painting the beach
January 25, 2016 at 6:07 pm
It certainly was Lou! Thank you. :-)
January 25, 2016 at 8:31 pm
Love these images, the one of the boat with it’s air of decay really appeals!
January 28, 2016 at 8:32 am
So sorry for such a late reply to you comments Sue! Thank you very much indeed!
February 8, 2016 at 6:14 pm