My Britain: The Jurassic Coast

The Jurassic Coast is named for its abundance of fossils, scattered along its shores. Particular fossil hotspots include Lyme Regis and Charmouth, where it’s not inconceivable that you could stumble across your own ammonite or belemnite one sunny morning. 

Inland, rich, chalky soil means that the area is also known for high quality wines. Vineyards abound, producing delicious sparkling wine—champagne in everything but name. In fact, sparkling wines from this region currently rank more highly than champagne from Champagne in international competitions! 

From Weymouth to Swanage, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to the English seaside town. Spend a perfect day dipping your toes in the cool water, spending your loose change at a seafront arcade and fending seagulls off of your fish and chips.  

On an especially sunny day, you’d be forgiven for mistaking yourself to be on the French Riviera, what with the lush green vineyards and the brave cliff jumpers flinging themselves off of Durdle Door into the welcoming blue sea. 

After a childhood spent in East Dorset, our family moved to the midlands—about as far away from a coastline as you can get! I was desperate to return to the sea, and five years ago I got that opportunity. Following my passion for rocks and fossils, I landed a job with Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre taking visitors and school groups fossil hunting on the beach.  

I’ll never get over finding a fossil and realising that I’m the first person to see it in almost 200 million years. There’s always something to find, you just never know what’s out there!  

I feel very proud to live and work on the Jurassic Coast. It’s England’s only natural World Heritage Site, so of course it’s amazing to be working on a globally unique location famous for it fossils, but it’s also simply stunning with incredible views stretching along the coast. Working directly with visitors, it’s wonderful to share all of that with them.  

The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre is a small local charity, sat right on the seafront, with an aim to encourage safe fossil hunting on the beach by sharing our top tips for fossil hunting on guided walks. We do lots of fossil ID too! We are very lucky that local fossil collectors loan their latest finds for visitors to see for free as well (including one of the best preserved 3D plesiosaurs in Europe). 

My favourite spot on the coast has always been Old Harry’s Rock near Studland Bay. Not only are there incredible views, sometimes as far as the Isle of Wight, but it’s geologically and geomorphologically interesting too. These chalk stacks were once connected to The Needles on the Isle of Wight as a long chalk ridge, before the meltwater after the Ice Age spilled out and eroded it all away, leaving just the dramatic stacks at either end. It’s hard not to be in awe of nature when you stand there and imagine all that happening so many years ago. 

I grew up in south Devon and moved to the Jurassic Coast for my job. I’ve lived here four and a half years now. I often walk the Jurassic Coast and the south west coast in general—I’ve walked from Devon back up here before. The scenery of the coastline, the cliff formations, you’re just overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of it.  

Every day, before or after work, I swim in the sea. It’s such a luxury to be able to do that. And sometimes we’ll just have a barbecue on the beach on an evening. I just love it. 

In the southwest it’s a nice, slow pace of life. A lot of young people find it a bit frustrating, because there aren’t necessarily huge amounts of job opportunities. I’m lucky that I’m in a career where the Jurassic Coast is just the perfect place to be. If you can embrace the pace of life and really appreciate the beauty of the surroundings, you’ll be at home on the Jurassic Coast. You may not make a fortune, but you’ll have a rich life in other ways. 

There’s a huge appreciation for the land in these parts. You really feel the connection between the land you live on and the food on your table. For me it’s probably heightened by my role within that—at Langham Wine Estate we’re very connected to local farms. People are definitely proud of the quality of the food and drink that we produce down here. That runs through everything. People want to support the local independence, you know, make sure that the fisherman is well looked after and the farmer gets their cut.  

Langham Wine Estate is really special because it has a very unique location. The soil structure of the vineyard has been key to our success. Being on the Jurassic Coast we’ve got Kimmeridge clay and limestone, and they’re two of the most important soil structures for making champagne. We’ve got loads of nice chalk as well. That’s essential for us to grow the fruit we do. We don’t buy any grapes, we grow all our own fruit on our single site. We are also based eight miles inland from the coast itself and we have a ridge of hills that protect us from that prevailing southwesterly wind. Because we have fair weather here too it means we can start harvesting a week or two later than they do in the southeast. We leave our fruit hanging for a bit longer so it gets riper. We’re also one of a handful of producers in the UK that doesn’t filter any of our wine. We use old oak barrels and create slightly lower pressure wines. We’re looking at a slightly different style of English sparkling wine. It all comes together thanks to the site and the team that we’ve got.  

I came into winemaking through a slightly unusual route. Usually you would do a winemaking course. Having grown up in south Devon I just got a summer job at a nearby vineyard labelling wine. Then I left school and the winemaker at the time needed some help with the harvest. I did that, went travelling, came home and needed a job again so picked up more bottle labelling work. I’m quite an inquisitive person, and I started asking, you know, how does that get made? How does it get here? I learnt on the job and developed a huge passion for it, and I’ve been head winemaker at Langham for three and a half years now. Winemaking involves a lot of science and geology and geography, but it also has a creative, experimental side. It’s all about trying to showcase the best of Dorset in a bottle and have some fun with it.

My favourite spot on the Jurassic Coast is Ringstead Bay. It’s great to go after work, as a team or with mates or just on your own, to go and swim every day or have a barbecue and just enjoy life, you know.  

I’ve lived on the Jurassic Coast my whole life. My mother’s side of the family moved here from Sussex many years ago, and my father’s side go back many generations locally. 

My family set up an ice cream business here in the early 1980s. As a child I helped with the family business and at school I studied graphic design. After a brief period studying at West London University I decided to return home to make a living here as the place is too charming to leave. The scenery in particular really is breathtaking. 

Lyme Regis is a charming town rich in history. I am particularly interested in the town’s vibrant past and we reference this in the beer we produce to tell the stories behind the town and it’s residents. 

The local community is very passionate about the town and preserving it’s charm. It’s very hard to walk along the seafront or through town without getting caught in pleasant conversation with the locals and visitors. There is a strong feeling of “Love Lyme”. 

Myself and three friends saved Lyme Regis Brewery from closure late in 2018. My design studio is opposite the brewery tap and I always felt the business could do better. We knew nothing about brewing, but decided to try and make the business a success. We rebranded and reopened after just a week and since then haven’t looked back! Despite a couple of difficult years with the COVID pandemic, the business has grown and we are now profitable and sustainable. We are continually investing in the business and growth is steady and organic. 

The owners treat the business as a hobby. We employ the staff to run it and we oversee operations in the background. We’re really proud to provide our brilliant team and their families with employment and financial security. It’s also a brilliant place to meet people from all over the world over a pint or two! 

As you drive into Lyme Regis from Seaton you go over the crest of the hill and can see Eastwards along the coast to Charmouth, Golden Cap, West Bay and Portland. This view is ever changing and quite spectacular. It never gets old and is a frequent reminder of just how beautiful this part of the world is.