Parson's Barn

Geographical location

Parson 's Barn is a large cavern at sea level on the English Channel to the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, on the south coast of England.

Location

It lies below the Ballard Point cliffs, between Studland Bay and Swanage Bay. The cave Parson 's Barn is located directly east of Studland, a few hundred meters south of Handfast Point and Old Harry Rocks about five kilometers northeast of Swanage.

Nature

The sea once washed a big hole in the rocks. Coast and cliffs along the East Devon and Dorset on the English Channel are one of the natural wonders of the world. From Orcombe Point at Exmouth to Old Harry Rocks at Studland Bay, a 155 km long coastline, which has been declared as the first natural landscape in England by the UNESCO World Heritage Site stretches. The cave Parson 's Barn is part of the so-called Jurassic Coast. Orcombe Point is characterized by a Geo - needle, it shows the starting point for the World Heritage Tour. The rock layers along the Jurassic Coast are slightly inclined to the east. Therefore, the oldest part of the coast is found in the western area.

Legend

The resulting cavity was used as a smugglers hideout. A large part has collapsed since then and has been eroded by the sea, only some spiers remained standing. The waves have cut arches in the chalk columns. When the winds blow during heavy storms, it generates sounds like a bell ringing. According to legend, these sounds come from a ship that brought the bells for a church to Poole and sank at this point because of the blasphemy of the crew.