In the glaring sunlight, the coastal path was blindingly white and flawless, too new for this time-worn landscape. We kicked up chalk dust that coated our hair, feet and sunburnt skin. Behind us, the land stretched far and wide in leaping hills of green, only breaking at the sudden burst of blue that made Lulworth Cove. To our left, a sea of tall grass danced in the wind, then crashed into the white chalk of the cliff’s edge.  We carried on slowly up the hill, struggling in the heat.

As we reached the zenith, the land ended. Far below, it curved to cup perfectly clear, turquoise water, opal sea-foam and a narrow pebble beach.  And to the left, stood a giant, fossilised in stone. Proud and strong in its ancient footing, it held fast against the lazy battering of the waves. It was a scene out of Celtic folklore — as if the cliff itself had once come alive, and stepped into the sea.

Durdle Door is a towering icon of the Jurassic Coast, an unbelievably stunning stretch of land that can count the ages of the earth. Over the course of 140 million years, time, wind and water have raged against the Door, eventually eroding away the thick limestone layers into the arch we see today. Near the top, you can still see fossil remnants of an ancient forest. Even its name is perhaps thousands of years old, with Durdle deriving from the Old English word, thril, meaning to pierce, drill or bole.

We stopped at Durdle Door on our three-day road trip along the Jurassic Coast this past July.  It was both my favourite memory of Dorset, and one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen.

We followed the Coastal Path from the Lulworth Cove car park up to Durdle Door, a 2.5-mile hike that offered incredible views of the dramatic coastline and the gorgeous Man O’War Bay. It’s honestly a jaw-dropping scene of natural beauty I’ll never forget.