The Isle of Purbeck is not an island at all. It’s surrounded on three sides by the sea, open sea to the east and south, Poole harbour to the north. It’s very much attached to the mainland on the west, where the lovely town of Wareham marks the gateway to the isle. I grew up just outside Purbeck, wisely spent some of my youth fishing and walking and sketching there, and unwisely misspent some of my youth doing other things in Corfe Castle (the village) and Swanage. These days, I get to see the south Purbeck coastline from my front door in Weymouth.
This stretch of coastline includes Kimmeridge, home to the oldest working oil pump in the UK (it’s been going since the 50s), a famous scene from Some Mothers Do Have Em (the one where the car is dangling off the cliff), a marine nature reserve and an awful lot of fossils. I’ve not drawn anything at Kimmeridge yet (but one day I will).
There’s also the picturesque Lulworth Cove, which I have drawn. You can buy some very good ice cream at Lulworth.
And of course the world famous Durdle Door, which I’ve drawn twice.
