Ancient histories in lush Dorset, quarrying in Portland
  1. Jurassic CoastThe Jurassic Coast and the beautiful Dorset coastline
  2. Chesil Beach – visually mesmerising stretch of pebble shoreline.
  3. Shocking a Priest with the Cerne Abbas Giant
  4. Abbotsbury swannery – serene, engaging colony of birds with its own very long history
  5. Isle of Portland – industrial, custodial, trap for shipping, quarried extensively for the prince of all building stones.
Dorset is a playground for holidays but much more as well, rich in every sense, with deep histories and telling landscapes.  It is easy to relish the lushness, visual beauty and mild climate; but challenging sites and connections stand at every turn for those with eyes to see. Fossil-bearing cliffs, extensive Neolithic settlements, hill forts, castles, exquisite manor houses, matchless villages, literary connections – the mind spins.  Close by but very different lies Portland, a harsh bead of rock against which Chesil Beach was formed, and an unforgiving obstacle to shipping.  Can quarried stone be exciting?  If ever so, then it is here.
Home           The Project           The Author         Gallery      Buy the Book