Located just to the east of Lulworth Cove inside the military firing ranges the fossil forest is one of the highlights of the “Jurrasic Coast.”
Towards the end of the Jurassic period the sea level dropped creating a group of islands surrounded by salty lagoons. For a short period of time a tropical forest of giant cypress and ferns flourished before the sea rose again. The forest was then flooded under a shallow lagoon. Thick mats of algae grew across the forest floor and around the base of the trees and fallen logs. Sediments stuck to the algae and built up over time to form large doughnut-shaped ‘burrs' around the trees and wood.
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The Fossil Forest is now the most complete fossil record of a Jurassic forest in the world.
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