Stair Hole is a small

cove A cove is a small bay or coastal inlet. They usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creek (tidal), creeks, or recesses in a coast ...

located just west of

Lulworth Cove Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, southern England. It is privately owned by the Weld family along with Durdle Door and the Lulworth Estate. The cove is one of the world's finest examples ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, southern England. The folded

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

known as the ''Lulworth crumple'' are particularly visible at Stair Hole. There are several caves visible from the seaward side of Stair Hole; Cathedral Cavern is supported by pillars of rock rising out of the water.Hammond, R. J. W., ''Dorset Coast'', Ward Lock Ltd, 1979, p149 The rock structure was created during the

Alpine orogeny The Alpine orogeny, sometimes referred to as the Alpide orogeny, is an orogenic phase in the Late Mesozoic and the current Cenozoic which has formed the mountain ranges of the Alpide belt. Cause The Alpine orogeny was caused by the African c ...

and exposed by subsequent erosion. Stair Hole featured in ''

Nuts in May Nuts in May may refer to: * "Nuts in May" (''Play for Today'') * "Nuts in May" (rhyme) * ''Nuts in May'' (film) * ''Nuts in May'' (novel) {{Disambiguation ...

'', a

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

directed by

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English screenwriter, producer, director and former actor with a film, theatre, and television career spanning more than 60 years. His accolades include prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin In ...

, and in ''Five on a Treasure Island'', a 1957

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, ge ...

by the

Children's Film Foundation The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) is a non-profit organisation which makes films and other media for children in the United Kingdom. Originally it made films to be shown as part of children's Saturday morning matinée cinema programming. Th ...

and was the background for the climactic sword fight between George Baker and

Peter Arne Peter Arne (born Peter Randolph Michael Albrecht; 29 September 19181 August 1983) was a British actor. He made more than 50 film appearances including roles in '' Ice Cold in Alex'', '' The Moonraker'', '' Conspiracy of Hearts'' and '' Victor/Vi ...

in ''

The Moonraker ''The Moonraker'' is a 1957 British swashbuckler film directed by David MacDonald (director), David MacDonald and starring George Baker (British actor), George Baker, Sylvia Syms, Marius Goring, Gary Raymond, Peter Arne, John Le Mesurier and Pa ...

'' (1957).

Gallery

File:E end of Stair Hole, Lulworth, England arp.jpg, East end of the Lulworth Crumple at Stair Hole File:Stair Hole-7172.jpg, West end of the Lulworth Crumple at Stair Hole

References

External links

Geology of the Dorset Coast
– University of Southampton information
Lulworth Online
– Information on the villages Coves of Dorset Geology of Dorset Jurassic Coast {{Dorset-geo-stub

Gallery

See also

References

External links