GEOLOGY Thousands of years ago there was a ridge of chalk running along the south coast that joined the Isle of Wight to Poole in Dorset. Over the centuries this chalk has been eroded away and the infamous stretch of water known as the Solent was created. Yep this is the very water that keeps yours truly separated from the mainland, providing countless stories of missed ferries and travel mishaps. On my side of the Solent, the Needles majestically poke out from the cliffs on the west side of the island while approximately twelve miles away over the water, Old Harry marks the start of the incredible Jurassic Coast which extends for 95 miles all the way to East Devon. For geologists amongst us, you probably already know that the chalk was formed around 65 million years ago by a layer of calcium deposits from sea creatures dying and falling to the sea bed. ‘Plate tectonics’, ooh I remember that from geography, forced the chalk up above the sea level after the last ice age but at the end of that period the sea level rose and combined with erosion, channelled out the chalk ridge and the Needles and Old Harry in the process. To this day the chalk stacks are constantly eroding with regular cliff falls between Studland and Swanage. The sea exploits cracks in the chalk, eats away to form caves, these eventually form an arch and then collapse to form a stack! Next to Old Harry, there used to be another stack known as ‘Old Harrys Wife’ which fell into the sea back in 1896. Rather than be a widower, nature has provided Harry with a new wife, a smaller stack formed by more recent erosion. The larger clump of chalk that lies adjacent to Old Harry is known as ‘No man’s land’ while round the corner towards Swanage are the Pinnacles known as the ‘Haystack’ and the ‘Wedge’ respectively. Due to their isolation the stacks have been colonized by many breeding seabirds and even peregrine falcons.
“ Old Harry marks the start of the incredible Jurassic Coast which extends for 95 miles all the way to East Devon ” JC