There are many interesting and varied walks round and through Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck some are exceedingly dog friendly, others less so (oh and watch out for the cows).
The Southwest coastpath begins at Sandbanks Ferry entrance to Poole Harbour and follows the coast to Minehead some 630 miles distance. The path passes the NCI lookout at Peveril point after it has traversed Swanage Bay. Walkers are welcome to stop by for a chat and local information Southwest coastpath information
Whilst walking around swanage and taking the coastal paths people should be aware that this is a world heritage site. The famous Jurasic coast.
The Jurasic coast starts from Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset to Orcombe Point near Exemouth in East Devon. It is said that if you take a fossil hammer you can find a fossil from 1 out of 10 rocks on this coast.
Mary Anning who was born in 1799 was an English fossil collector and palaetologist, who dealt in mainly marine fossils.She became known around the world for important finds she made in the Jurassic marine fossil beds at Lyme Regis in Dorset, where she lived. Her work contributed to fundamental changes that occurred during her lifetime in scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the Earth.
This print was probably made by the hind legs of a megalosaur, a type of large, meat-eating dinosaur. Megalosaurs could kill giant, plant-eating sauropods. We can identify it from the long, thin toes and a suggestion of a claw impression on the middle one.
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| For more information on the Jurassic Coast general click here or for Jurassic Coast geology click here |