Neckties & Earl Grey Skies

Recap

Just wow. The Jurassic Coast is a 95-mile stretch of BEAUTIFUL land along the southern coast of England. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is named the Jurassic Coast because of the presence of fossils that can be found here from the Jurassic period. We set out to see the ocean, dinosaur footprints, and fossils… and man… did we conquer. It took us about 2.5 hours to reach our first stop, Spyway. Spyway is home to sea cliffs, preserved brachiosaur footprints, and puffins, amongst many other things. We hiked to the footprints and then down to the cliffs. We watched people go on expeditions to cave dive and to swim in a natural pool in the rocks by the ocean. We hoped to see the puffins nesting in the cliffs but were unlucky this time around.

The boys stepping where dinosaurs once stepped (above).

Look to the left and you will see people swimming in a rectangular “pool” (above).

Taking a break to take in the vast landscape (above).

Next stop was Durdle Door. Wowza. The cliffs, the green, the rock formations, the color of the water. What a delight. Also, if you look real closely, you can see a seal resting on the beach down below.

After this gem, we headed to Lyme Regis in hopes to find some fossils. We chose to go to East Cliff Beach, where Mary Anning, a famous fossil collector, found her first Ichthyosaur fossil. We had views of Black Ven, the largest mudslide in Europe along with the Spittles, which were the cliffs directly behind the beach. East Cliff Beach was filled with hopeful fossil finders. People brought hammers and other various tools and, on occasion, you would hear shouts of excitement when treasure was found! It took some trial and error… and some quick google searches… but we soon figured out what we were looking for and were lucky enough to find some ammonite. We found both imprints of ammonite and two pieces of REAL ammonite! It took a lot of concentration and determination.

Pictured above – the boys ready for a fossil hunt.

Jack’s first discovery (above).

Jack found this beauty (above). It was about the size of the palm of my hand… and in hindsight, I think we should have chiseled it out… oh well!

Will accepted this ammonite gift then headed to the sand to dig some holes (above).

REAL AMMONITE!!!! (above)

We had a wonderful time on the Jurassic Coast and would come back any weekend to experience this wondrous place, again.

Lessons Learned

1. There is a lot of hiking down …. and then back UP on the Jurassic Coast.
2. Ammonite is found amongst pyrite.
3. Book accommodations in advance (not the day before) if you want options.

New Vocabulary Gems

“Bit of a jolly”. I overheard this statement that I believe meant it was more pleasure than work.

Fortnightly – biweekly

Whilst- at the same time as