TIME VISITED: October 2016 BUSY ? Shoulder season not too busy
WEATHER: 60s/70s and partly cloudy REASON FOR VISIT: To Explore
WHERE TO STAY: AIRBNB EXPENSIVE?: $$
Two years ago when someone mentioned England, I pretty much pictured cuties with sexy accents and London. I somewhat thought of historical buildings and endless amounts of shops lining the streets.
Now?
I think JURASSIC COAST.
I don’t think many know this, but England is home to 96 miles of pure magic. It stretches from East Devon to East Dorset. Between these two areas you will find many different rock formations that will leave you stunned and madly in love with the UK.
Places I saw while visiting Southern England
- Lulworth Bay
- Durdle Door
- Old Harry Rocks
- Stonehenge
DAY 1
LULWORTH BAY
If you want to get to Durdle Door you will start at Lulworth Bay carpark. You will pay a small fee to leave your car there for the day and then start your hike! Some people skip Lulworth Bay and head straight to Durdle Door. I personally think it is worth the extra 15 minutes to walk to the bay. It is less crowded and I think It was a beautiful little bay. There are a couple places for snacks, drinks and lunch if you forgot yours. I think it is best to pack a lunch and enjoy it on the beach when you arrive later that day at Durdle Door. We stopped in to one of the shops to get some homemade fudge! We also enjoyed some ice cream after our small trek to Durdle Door.
We had a pretty overcast day but got there in time for a few extra colors to join the sky before sunset.
Don’t you want to grab that little boat and head out there any explore!? I kept thinking that the whole time I enjoyed Lulworth Bay.
Next you will head out to Durdle Door. I recommend tennis shoes for this hike, it isn’t too long or extremely exhausting, but there are some uphill battles and the entire hike consists of loose gravel.
While you are walking you may see some people on tours in the water. We learned that these tours allow you to get up close and personal with the beautiful geology of this place. You can also kayak through this area. MORE TOUR INFO HERE
DURDLE DOOR
This is a great area to enjoy your lunch after the short hike. The small pebble beach is a comfortable place to sit and enjoy the scenery!
WHERE TO STAY
We stayed in a wonderful Airbnb in Weymouth. From our Airbnb it was a 30 minute drive to the carpark at Lulworth Bay. This small apartment was super cozy and we could also catch up on some laundry here! You can book the same Airbnb we did, HERE
For more in depth information on how to get from place to place if you are doing Lulworth Bay, Durdle Door and Old Harry Rocks all in one day (we just drove using google maps) use this awesome website! Some people mentioned they loved seeing this coast by boat!
DAY 2
OLD HARRY ROCKS
After parking in a nearby parking lot (about $5 for 2 hours) we made it just in time for sunset! It took us about 20 minutes to get to the rocks. You can do a long hike (1-2 hours if you have the time)
More information on that here, https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/purbeck-countryside/trails/old-harry-rocks-walk
Ok, so now for my favorite and most fun part. And I want to make this very clear. THIS IS NOT ADVISED. I only say fun, because I lived and have a cool picture now. But I have to be honest, this is the most stupid and most “dare devil” thing I have ever done before. My man at the time took me here, because he knows I like to “live on the edge” and apparently do stupid shit. I walked up to this and sad “no fricken way”, but as soon as I said no, I knew I had to do it.
See this little path? Well, at its thinnest, it is about 5-6 inches wide and has no railing or wire to hang on to. If you were to fall, chances of living would be slim to none.
BUT IF YOU DO LIVE YOU GET THIS PICTURE
Maybe not worth your life…..
BUT THIS ONE IS
DAY 3
STONEHENGE
If you are in England and you have a 1/2 day to spare, it is worth seeing Stonehenge. If you don’t have the time to spare, I would personally opt out. It was one of those things that was interesting, because of the history, but other than that I didn’t love it. Very touristy, so very crowded. We went because it was only an hour out of the way on our way back to London. If you are in London, it is about a 2 1/2 drive from there!
Brief history on this odd place: Construction started in about 3100 BC and we learned that construction was extremely lengthy and in three phases. When you’re there you can’t stop asking yourself, why is this here!? Why was this built? We learned this is a question that most say still doesn’t have a single answer. The reasons range from human sacrifice to astronomy.
