A beautiful stretch of beach on the south coast of England is Britain’s longest.
Chesil Beach in Dorset, also known as Chesil Bank, is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain. Its name is derived from the word chessil, meaning “gravel” or “shingle”.
It is 18 miles and links West Bay to the Isle of Portland. In places, it is up to 15 metres high and 200 metres wide, making it the longest beach in the UK.
Behind the beach is the Fleet, a shallow tidal lagoon home to wading birds, a swan colony, and fossils. The deepest part is five metres deep, but all of the mid and upper Fleet is less than two metres deep.
Both are part of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Country Life magazine dubbed the view of the beach from Abbotsbury among Britain’s best.
The beach is made up of more than 180 billion pebbles – the typical size of stones reduces steadily and sharply along the length of the beach from fist-sized in Portland to pea-sized in Bridport.
It is believed that smugglers landing on the beach at night could judge their position along the coast simply by picking up a handful of shingle.
Chesil Beach sharply curves at the eastern end, near the village of Chiswell, and forms Chesil Cove against the cliffs of the Isle of Portland, and this protects the low-lying village from flooding.
The beach has been the scene of many shipwrecks and was named “Dead Man’s Bay” by Thomas Hardy.
Author, John Fowles, said of Chesil: “It is above all an elemental place, made of sea, shingle and sky, its dominant sound always that of waves on moving stone: from the great surf and pounding … of sou’westers, to the delicate laps and back-gurgling of the rare dead calm….”
Chesil Beach provides shelter from the prevailing winds and waves for the town of Weymouth, Dorset and the village of Chiswell on Portland.
Hamm Beach is on the eastern side of Chesil Beach facing into Portland Harbour. It is an area of shallow sand dunes overlying shingle.
It was originally a much longer beach and was a tombolo but the southern section is now submerged below modern development. Hamm Beach is separate from Chesil Beach and was formed in a different manner.
The wild and rugged beaches are seldom busy, even though they draw visitors year-round. Across the whole area, there is only a lifeguard service at West Bay during the summer. Swimming elsewhere is not recommended due to the strong under-tow and large waves.
