Mary Anning was the fossil princess of Devon

In 2001, the Jurassic Coast of Devon and Dorset joined the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos Islands and Skellig Michael on the list of World Heritage Sites. 

Chesil Beach, an extraordinary sea barrier, 29km long 200m wide and 16m high, looks like a gigantic man-made structure but it’s entirely natural. Fossil specimens from the area’s crumbling cliffs have transformed our understanding of natural history.

Thanks to Stephen Spielberg’s 1993 film, everybody has heard of the ‘Jurassic Period’. Named after France’s Jura Mountains, where ‘Jurassic limestone’ was first identified, it began 200 million years ago and lasted for 45 million more. Back then, the super-continent of Pangaea was breaking up, dinosaurs roamed the land and flying lizards ruled the skies. Our ancestors, the mammals, were tiny mouse-like creatures. Birds and flowering plants, yet to appear.