'The Jurassic Coast - Chesil Beach — The Casterbridge, Dorchester, Dorset', 'description'=>'Our Georgian residence and concealed courtyard annex combine to provide a peaceful haven behind the bustling street scene of this pleasant and historic county town.' ); $PageDetails[ 'copy' ] = <<Chesil beach joins Portland to the mainland.The long bank of the Chesil protects the Fleet Lagoon and the low lying country behind.

The pebbles of the beach, almost all of flint and chert, contain samples from many points to the west including distinctive stones from the far side of Lyme Bay. All sorts of elaborate theories have been proposed to explain how they got there. In fact the answer is probably that the beach is old. The pebbles formed an ancient beach across what is now Lyme Bay which was rolled back by a rise in sea level. The beach is still moving a little, old charts have it a little further offshore and big storms push material over the crest to the inshore side and continue the rolling motion of the stones.

The Fleet Lagoon may occupy a drowned valley. These days it looks much more like a one sided river valley than a coastline. Now there are only a few small streams draining into the Fleet, the lands forming its original catchment must be beneath the sea. Despite the estuary-like appearance of the opening into Portland Harbour at Small Mouth the water there is salt, not fresh.

Jurassic Coast | Itineraries Page

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