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Durdle Door – Jurassic Coast Photography

Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast at Sunrise

I was fortunate enough to visit Durdle Door whilst I was in Southampton for a week and seen as I take my camera kit most places it was a last minute choice between the New Forest and The Jurassic Coast for a morning sunrise shoot. I didn’t have the luxury of planning a shoot but I did manage to have a quick drive around the New Forest in particular the village of Lyndhurst as my hotel was a 10 minute drive from there. I did manage to find some of the wild ponies that roam around, I was tempted to stop the car and photograph them but it was raining hard and with the light fading I decided not to bother and headed back to the Hotel.

So a few days later when Sunday came I got a chance to do a sunrise shoot I was a little out of my comfort zone not knowing where to go in the New Forest so I decided to go with the safe option and visit an extremely popular photographed area on the South coast of England.

Jurassic Coast Photography

Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast at Sunrise
Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast at Sunrise

Durdle Door

Durdle Door is one of the most photographed features on the Jurassic Coast its also a World Heritage site and covers over 95 miles of outstanding picturesque coastline.

I had seen some lovely shots from a fellow photographer Andrew Yu from the same area and was intrigued at its beauty and as I had visited Lulworth many times with my previous job before getting into photography I couldn’t believe I had never visited the stunning coastline.

Pre sunrise on the Jurassic Coast with Durdle Door in the foreground.
Pre sunrise on the Jurassic Coast with Durdle Door in the foreground.
Durdle Door pre Sunrise on the Jurassic Coast
Durdle Door pre Sunrise on the Jurassic Coast

I was also surprised to find out that Durdle Door and 5 miles of the Jurassic Coast is actually privately owned by the Weld family who manage the Lulworth Estate. As I planned getting to the location I noticed there was a Pay and Display car park literally 300 meters away on a caravan site which was ideal as I would need 30 minutes prior to sunrise to work out some compositions and get a feel for the area, there is nothing worse that turning up to a location not knowing where to go.

I arrived early and discovered that the gate to the pay and display car park was closed so had to park on the main road and walk the mile through the caravan park to the coast. I still managed to arrive in good time, as I was the first person there that morning i got to work taking a few pre sunrise shots or morning blues as some people like to call them.

The first thing I noticed when I got closer to Durdle Door was the deterioration of the public footpaths and I was a little hesitant to embark down them initially as the tide was still high but I had checked and it was starting to go out as I arrived.

I decided to slowly make my way down onto the beach trying out a few different compositions.

After 20 minutes a photographer turned up, we had a brief chat as we walked down to the waters edge and then about our business, We were soon joined by about 5 other photographers that morning so it must be a popular location, or they were making the best of the weekend weather forecast.

A wonderful sunrise at Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast
A wonderful sunrise at Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast

I’m back down in Southampton in a few weeks time. I would like to revisit the area and try some alternative compositions as it really is a wonderful area, with Lulworth Cove just down the road as well.

As I left I managed to capture one more with the rising sun casting some nice light and shadows.

Durdle Door on the amazing Jurassic Coast as the sun rises behind me
Durdle Door on the amazing Jurassic Coast as the sun rises behind me

Comments (1)

Maureen Hemming

Superb pictures of Durdle Door, or as I like to call it Durdle dragon as some angles look just like a dragon bending over the cliff to have a drink.
Thank you for the beautiful and varied shots you have taken.
I have been down to see on once and glad that I did when I was able, as sadly I cannot walk too far now and not up that hill coming back.
I enjoy looking at photos of it now and am so pleased I went when I did. Dorset is a beautiful county and I feel so blessed to live there.

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