Lulworth Cove

Lulworth Cove is an almost circular bay in Dorset, formed by rock layers of differing hardness. Along the coast lie narrow bands of Portland and Purbeck limestone, behind them 300 to 500 m of softer clays and greensands, and at the back about 250 m of chalk. Stair Hole, just under 800 m to the west, is a younger cove and shows what Lulworth once looked like. The cove has been part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site since 2001 and, like Durdle Door, is privately owned by the Weld family.

The large car park and visitor centre stand above the cove, and cars cannot go any further; you walk down to the cove on foot. Durdle Door is about 1.6 km away on a well-worn path uphill over Hambury Tout; wooden steps and fences protect the slope. The military land east of the cove is open only at certain times: on most weekends and during holiday periods, in 2026 for example from 25 July to 31 August, with a few weekends closed (as of October 2026). Current times are published by the Ministry of Defence. About 30 per cent of the roughly 500,000 visitors a year come in July and August.