The Jurassic Coast is a 95-mile-long stretch of Unesco-protected coastline in Devon and Dorset.
Being so popular, the Lulworth Estate benefits from multiple sources of income when it comes to Durdle Door, neighbouring Lulworth Cove and Lulworth Castle.
It wasn’t a surprise that Lulworth Estate wanted to reopen their paid Durdle Door car park to visitors on 13th May when restrictions were eased, especially after Camp Bestival 2020 at Lulworth Castle was cancelled.
However, very few could predict the masses of people who drove to Durdle Door to sunbathe and swim in the sea; many disregarding the continued guidance, such as social distancing and seeing people from other households.
If it wasn’t enough that many travelled for hours, and some broke the rules, a few thrill-seekers decided to head up onto the 200-ft arch and tombstone from it. Unfortunately, this did not end well. Helicopters landed on the beach to rescue 4 injured people.
Following the aftermath of the incident and so many people fleeing to the beach over the Bank Holiday Monday and the subsequent days, it’s disgusting to see how much litter was left on the beach.
I was picking things up that I really shouldn’t have to pick up.
I had litter thrown at me, I had bags and bags of rubbish dumped near me to deal with.
I’ve had people shouting at me when I asked them nicely to take their litter with them.
Anna Taylor, volunteer at Clean Jurassic Coast
You can visit the Clean Jurassic Coast website to learn more about their work.
Many have expressed their shock and disgust over visitors to this beautiful part of our county during the lockdown.
The Council, Lulworth Estate or Police are being urged to act on recent events and ensure that the most popular destinations in our county are controlled and that rules are followed – whether that’s COVID-19 measures, or simply taking your litter with you.
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