Durlston Country Park

The park is a popular destination for tourists to enjoy the walks, views, visitor centre, climbing, and wildlife, including Durlston Castle, the Great Globe, Tilly Whim Caves, and Anvil Point Lighthouse.

The underlying rock is limestone so the majority of the park is calcareous grassland, probably created about 1000 years ago by clearing of oak forest, hosting a range of wild flower species and associated animals such as butterflies.

There were few open-cast quarries, and none in Durlston, but there are many mine shafts across the landscape, notably Tilly Whim Caves in a dry glacial meltwater valley.

Other ornaments include plaques carved with quotations from Shakespeare and the Bible, maps showing the English Channel and the United Kingdom, and facts about the natural world.

The park has put a lot of investment into improving its footpaths, making them easier to walk along or for use with off-road wheelchairs or mobility scooters that are available to hire at the Visitor Centre.

The accessible 'Everyone Needs a Shed' facility welcomes people of all ages and abilities to socialise, learn new skills, and volunteer in support of the park.

Durlston is in the Dorset National Landscape area and the Purbeck Heritage Coast (which holds a Council of Europe Diploma for its management).