At the tip of the promontory of Portland Bill is a famous lump of rock called Pulpit Rock.  It is not a natural feature, but was left in the 1870’s after a natural arch was cut away by quarrymen working here (can you imagine if they tried to do that today?  There’d be uproar!)

When the arch was cut away, Pulpit Rock was left intentionally as a quarrying relic, designed with religious connotations.  The large slab of rock at the front, leaning on the main stack, represents an open bible leaning on a pulpit.

It is a popular tourist attraction, and hand- and foot-holds have been cut into the bible to facilitate the short climb to the top.

The top is relatively flat and offers expansive views.

It’s quite a fun climb to do (clearly I was quite excited!) although in bad weather it is not advisable!

Pulpit Rock is also a popular spot for fishing – in 1998 a Ballan Wrasse weighing a UK-record-breaking 9 lb 1 oz was caught here.  Almost 20 years later the record still stands. And it was here that we also set a personal record, for it was at Pulpit Rock that we hit the 700-mile mark on our walk around the Coast of Britain.

We said goodbye to Portland Bill, leaving the tourists to head off towards the quiet western side of the island and back to Chesil Beach and to continue our journey.

Points on this part of the walk (copy and paste the co-ordinates into Google Earth)

• Pulpit Rock: N 50° 30.855 W 002° 27.570

Walk #83 Statistics (of which this post forms the first part):

• Date of Walk: 10 June 2015
  
• Walk #83 total distance covered: 4.15 miles
• Coast of Britain Walk Total Distance Covered: 704.09 miles
• CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO INTERACTIVE MAP!!!