Welcome to my web site which contains maps, stories, history, advice and over 800 photographs to help you explore Portland, Dorset - The Jewel of the Jurassic Coast

Yeolands Quarry & Durdle Pier

Portland, Dorset

Back to Portland Home Page

Back to Portland Map Index page

The above image is copyright Dorset County Council 2000 and is reproduced here with permission.

The abandoned railway line divides this area as shown by the red dotted line at left.

To the seaward side is rough quarried ground with a few paths for walking.

Durdle Pier stands with its crane and fishermen's huts at the water's edge.

High above the railway track is Shepherd's Dinner, a flat pathway at the cliff edge skirting around Yeolands Quarry - one of the largest holes quarried on Portland.

Please click here for many old pictures of quarrying on Portland.

Please click here for a detailed street map. Click the BACK button on your browser to return to this page.

Please click here to visit the satellite image of this area on Google Maps. Click the BACK button on your browser to return to this page.

Durdle Pier - one of the few remaining cranes used for lifting boats from the water.

This isolated pier is still used but the long, steep and difficult climb to the top of the cliff makes me wonder why anyone should bother.

Unfortunately, the appeal of the old crane with its rusting winding gears is ruined by the mess of rubbish and dilapidated huts strewn nearby.  It is a great shame that so many locals take so little interest and care of their heritage and environment.

Shepherd's Dinner ablaze with colour showing that Portland's abandoned quarries are not lifeless.

This scene is at the cliff-edge over the old railway line; an area now popular with rock climbers.

Yeolands Quarry - a massive hole left after the stone had been extracted.

Note the figure walking in the quarry.

Note! Even abandoned quarries are private property and permission must be sought to explore them. Even then, entry must be in accordance with Health and Safety rules as imposed by the owners.

The depth of this quarry can be judged by the figure standing against the eastern wall.

Truly enormous!

Recently this quarry has been used for dumping overburden and it is now (2003) changed considerable compared with the above pictures taken in 1989.

In the late 1980s the central bottom area of the quarry had a unique ecosystem where small ponds were fed by rivulets. This damp environment hosted many types of reeds, grasses and even newts - how they got they I do not know.

Back to Portland Home Page

Back to Portland Map Index page