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Dorset鈥檚 stunning coastline ranks alongside the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal in receiving World heritage听 Status in 2001.

The whole 鈥楯urassic Coast鈥� stretches 95 miles (150 km) from Exmouth in east Devon through to Old Harry Rocks east of Swanage.听 The cliffs, beaches, caves and inlets attract thousands of visitors each year who walk around, study, swim around and climb over the coastline.

Jon Welsh paragliding over the coast

Jon Welsh is a keen diver who guides adventurous visitors around the rocks and wrecks which lie under the surface of the channel:

鈥淚t鈥檚 completely another world 鈥� it鈥檚 a little bit like what an astronaut must feel I imagine 鈥� you float, your movement is effortless and as you glide through the water you see one interesting thing after another.鈥澨�

The Millers at work

Jon also sees the Dorset coast from another perspective when he indulges his passion for paragliding听 - he can spend hours in the air if conditions are favourable.

Traditional crafts and skills may be under pressure in areas like Dorset but in Lulworth, the Miller family still carry on fishing as their ancestors have for the last 400 years.听

Joe Miller comes from a family who have been fishing for over 400 years: 鈥淚t鈥檚 all I鈥檝e ever done really 鈥� I never get bored and I like what I do. He sees it in all conditions and the ever changing landscape: "When you听 look at postcards from years ago, you think 'that's changed' you don't notice the small changes - it's a good life, you've got to like it,听 I've seen plenty people who come and go.

Rob Martin windsurfing

Joes' wife Christine Miller runs the Cove Fish shop while his father, Jim Miller has now retired from a lifetime of听 fishing, but not before passing on the skills of the trade to his son

He remembers pulling the oars of 'pot boats' "It's a way of life, you've got to have the know-how, you can't chuck a pot over and catch a lobster, - you need a little bit of savy."

Amongst the influx of newer residents to the coast is firefighter, Rob Martin.听 The attraction of the area is so strong that he is prepared to commute to Surrey in order to live by the World Heritage coast.

Dougal Dixon

The Jurassic coast is, unspurprisingly, a Mecca for geologists 鈥� crumbling rock erosion in beaches like Kimmeridge and Lime Regis听expose dinosaur remains and there are听 fossil forests near Lulworth.听 The coastline is considered to be the only place in the world displaying unbroken evidence of 185 million years of evolution.

The slabs of rocks along the cliffs are like the pages of a history book for natural history writer Dougal Dixon who has lived here for 25 years: "You can see the changing conditions throughout hundreds of millions of years. The sedimentary rocks were originally laid down horizontally but earth movements since then which threw up the Alps further South听 in Europe contracted and twisted the rocks into the beautiful formations we have today. Its a fantasic blast from the past .鈥�

Julie Hatcher

"It's so varied, that's the beauty of it - it changes every half mile or so and that's what gives it its character. I moved to the area I've read about all my life - I couldn't think of anywhere nicer to live."听

Julia Hatcher, Dorset Wildlife Trust works at Kimmeridge Bay, one of the few places at the eastern end of the coast where it is possible to get down to sea level: "I was delighted when I got a job here, it's a fantastic place -听 you never know what you are going to find along the beach."

"It's very safe and shallow, there are rock ledges you can walk out on and get a really good view of the plants and animals that live in the sea, there is a huge amout to see.听 It's very good for snorkling, very safe and colourful."听

Hamish Murray

Bird life thrives along the limestone cliffs听 which are pockmarked with nooks and crannies, perfect for birds to nest in.

Hamish Murray, Countryside Ranger, Dorset County Council "These cliffs are home to huge numbers of breeding seabirds - gillimots and razerbills and there's even a colony of puffins at Dancing Ledge听 At Durlston, people can come and see the fantastic birdlife face to face, the wealth of wildlife in this area is phenominal."

Meet more of the people who live and work along the Dorset coast by clicking on the Video reports on the right.