July 1997

This photo was taken from the cliff path towards the top of Black Ven, and is looking eastwards towards Stonebarrow Hill, with Chesil Beach disappearing into the haze in the distance. The path from the beach to this vantage point, includes crossing some land-slipped terrain. Since this time, the vantage point used has 'slipped', resulting in the closure of the cliff path.

October 1999 

Taken from sea level at the end of Wear Cliffs towards the eastern side of Golden Cap. At sea level, the Belemnite Marls are nearly all covered by water at high tide. The Green Ammonite Bed form the beds making up Wear Cliffs along the coast at this point. The prominent limestone band seen half way up the cliff face, is the upper bed of the Three Tiers Bed. The beach running up towards Seatown starts in the bottom right hand corner, some 400yds behind this vantage point. The 'Western Patches Reef' is just off the bottom left corner of this photo (currently hidden until low tide).

October 1999 

Taken from the foreshore beneath Stonebarrow Hill, this photo shows the west side of Golden Cap. The light coloured Cretaceous cap is easily seen. St. Gabriel's Mouth forms the only exit from the foreshore, that is east of Charmouth. The waterfall at Westhay Water can be seen tumbling over the Belemnite Marl ledge. At 191m high, Golden Cap is the highest sea cliff in southern England, being nearly 30m higher than Beachy Head.

September 2000

Taken from the foreshore under Golden Cap at low tide, looking west towards the Western Patches. At this point I am standing on the Belemnite Marls, some 2m below the top marker, the Belemnite Stone. A large number of my Belemnite fossils were collected from the exposed surface.

April 2001 

Taken from the cliff path at Seatown on the top of the Green Ammonite Bed that form Wear Cliffs. In the foreground are the sea defences that protect the cliff face that supports the Seatown coastal buildings. Compared to the photograph above, you can see that following several winter and spring storms, a large quantity of shingle has been deposited on the beach, covering the Belemnite Marl benches. At the base of the cliffs, the beach level is effectively 5-6 feet (1.5-2m) higher. This means that nearly all the Belemnite Marl has been covered.

May 2003

Taken from the start of the path leading up to the top of Ridge Cliff. There is little change on the state of Wear Cliffs and the beach shingle since the April 2001 photo seen previously. The person wearing the red top marks the location of the cliff top path that is now closed due to landslips.

April 2001 

Taken further round the beach from the above photo. As you can see the beach is covered in sand and shingle, a lot different from the September 2000 photos above. The Three Tiers bed makes a prominent marker on the cliff face of Golden Cap. The Belemnite Marls appear exposed below the boulders at low tide.

October 2001 

This photo shows that minimal changes to the beach between Seatown and Golden Cap. The base of Wear Cliffs is unreachable due to talus from earlier landslips. The Belemnite Marl can only be seen at low tide under Golden Cap.

May 2003 

This photo shows the slight changes to the beach between Seatown and Golden Cap. The large landslip mass on the beach seen during October 2001 (see previous photo), has since been washed away by high tides.

October 2001 

Taken from the top of Ridge Cliff, looking west, this photo shows the relationship of Seatown, to the two westerly hills, Golden Cap, and the inland ridge of Langdon Hill.

October 2001 

Taken from the top of Ridge Cliff, looking west, this photo shows a close up of the lower part of Golden Cap.