Old Harry Rocks

Old Harry Rocks | South Beach Car Park | Manor Road | Studland Bay | Swanage, BH19 3AU | www.nationaltrust.org.uk

One of Dorset's most famous sites - Old Harry Rocks - is situated at the most eastern point of the world famous Jurassic Coast.

It can be reached from Studland and Swanage beaches. 

There are various stories about the naming of the rocks. One legend says that the Devil (traditionally known euphemistically as "Old Harry") slept on the rocks. Another local legend says that the rocks were named after Harry Paye, the infamous Poole pirate, whose ship hid behind the rocks awaiting passing merchantmen. Yet another tale has it that a ninth-century Viking raid was thwarted by a storm and that one of the drowned, Earl Harold, was turned into a pillar of chalk.