The World Heritage coastline shows the Jurassic period and is described here:
visit link
'The lovely village of Studland is famous for its National Nature Reserve and beautiful natural bay. The village has an interesting Norman church with breathtaking views across the bay.
The bay is protected from wind and storms by the impressive Old Harry Rocks, a spectacular chalk headland that has seen many shipwrecks in its time. The wide, sweeping sandy beaches, spanning 5 miles, are great for swimming, watersports, sailing and diving. The clean beaches and calm shallow water are perfect for families.
The heathland and sand dunes behind the beach make up the Nature Reserve and are a haven for many rare birds, including the Dartford Warbler and a colony of wild ring-necked parakeets, and other forms of wildlife, including all 7 native species of reptile. There are several footpaths, bird hides at Little Sea, a National Trust trail and a woodland nature trail. Standing on a mound on the heath is the Agglestone, a 17ft high, 400 ton rock perched on a conical hill which the stone has protected from the weather but with no clues as to how it got there.
During the Second World War, Studland was used as a training ground for the D-Day Landings. The 90-foot long Fort Henry, with concrete walls almost three feet thick and a recessed observation slit, is one of Britain's most important relics of World War II and offers fantastic views over the bay.
Getting There
Bn Foot: Accessible via the South West Coast Path which runs along the entire length of the Jurassic Coast.
By Bus: Wilts & Dorset Buses service 150 from Bournemouth or Swanage or service 152 from Poole and change at Sandbanks ferry to 150. Open top buses during the summer season.
Find out more about the Jurassic Coast Bus Service. Visit Traveline for further information.
By Road: From the west: take the A351 from Wareham. Turn left on to the B351 until you get to Studland Village, and then follow the signs to Studland Bay.
From the east: Take the M3/M27 which turns into the A31. Take the A338 to Bournemouth, continue over the By-pass and follow the signs to Sandbanks and Ferry. Go straight on after the ferry for 3 miles until you reach Studland.'
New Swanage to Studland Bay encompasses the South West coast path as it passes through Swanage town and on to Studland village. There are breathtaking views along the coast as you walk along Ballard Down and past Old Harry Rocks, then into the stunning Studland Bay.
The UNESCO site describes the area:
'The cliff exposures along the Dorset and East Devon coast provide an almost continuous sequence of rock formations spanning the Mesozoic Era, or some 185 million years of the earth's history. The area's important fossil sites and classic coastal geomorphologic features have contributed to the study of earth sciences for over 300 years.
Criterion (viii): The coastal exposures within the site provide an almost continuous sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock formations spanning the Mesozoic Era and document approximately 185 million years of Earth history. The site includes a range of internationally important fossil localities – both vertebrate and invertebrate, marine and terrestrial - which have produced well preserved and diverse evidence of life during Mesozoic times.'