Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset seen from Coastal Path 1989

Postcard

 

• Picture / Image:  Kimmerridge Bay, Dorset - as seen from Dorset Coast Path photo: Michael J, Allen
• Publisher:  National Trust / Delpool Picture Library
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  19p definitive
• Postmark(s):  24 March 1989 [place unclear]
• Sent to:  Lady Lane, Chelmsford, Essex
• Notes & Key words: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information:

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Kimmeridge is a small village in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England, situated on the English Channel coast. Kimmeridge is about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Wareham and about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Swanage and is on the Isle of Purbeck. The village has a population of 110 (2001).^[1]

The village stands on Jurassic shale cliffs, and gives its name to the Kimmeridgian, the division of the Jurassic period in which the beds were laid down, because of the quality of the cliffs and the fossils they yield. It is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site because of the quality and variety of geological landforms along the coast. A Jurassic Coast Visitor Centre is situated in Kimmeridge.

The bay is also the type locality for the Jurassic age Kimmeridge Clay formation, which is well represented in southern England, and provides one of the source rocks for hydrocarbons found in the Wessex and North Sea Basins.

Beneath the cliffs there is a large wave-cut platform (known as The Flats) and a rocky shore with good quality rock pools and variety of rocky shore wildlife. The coast at Kimmeridge is usually warm, and ideal for studying seaweed and other organisms. The top, middle and lower beaches are not easily definable without markings, but are relatively easy to place.

On the cliff towards the west is the BP "nodding donkey" oil pump which has been pumping continually since the late 1950s, making it the oldest working oil pump in the UK. The well currently yields around 65 barrels per day from the Middle Jurassic strata that lie around 350 metres (1,100 ft) below the cliff.^[2][3] The well has been operating for this long because it has tapped into a network of connected reserves; however the yield is decreasing year on year. The oil is transported by tanker to the BP site at Wytch Farm from whence it is piped to the main refinery on Southampton Water.^[2]

Directly east of Kimmeridge bay (above Hen Cliff) is a folly known as Clavell Tower which inspired P.D. James's novel The Black Tower. Because it was in danger of falling down the eroding cliff, the tower has been dismantled and reassembled 35 metres further back from the cliff edge. The tower is available as a holiday let.

Kimmeridge Bay is a surfer area. Although it breaks infrequently due to its lack of exposure to Atlantic swells when it is on it produces walls of water. Below the cliffs to the East is 'The Ledges', slow left and right hand breaking waves.This break can have right-handers which spiral for 70 yards or more into the bay. To the West is 'Broad Bench', within the Ministry of Defence firing range and only accessible at the rare times when the ranges are open to the public.