History of Studland Bay

Live World War Two ammunition may occasionally be found. If you see anything, do not touch or remove it but note the location using what three words and report it immediately to a member of staff or call 01929 450500 or the police on 999. 

War time training

Exercise smash

Exercise Smash, a full-scale dress rehearsal for the Allied invasion of Europe, took place in Studland Bay in April 1944. Many duplex-drive Valentine tanks were used during the exercise. 

The duplex tanks were modified versions of the existing Valentine model which had propellers and a fabric ‘skirt’ added so they could be launched from offshore as part of the assault on the Normandy beaches.

Dragon's teeth

Look out for the concrete anti-tank defences known as Dragon’s Teeth, placed between Middle beach and Fort Henry. These huge concrete posts form part of the defence against an enemy invasion. More of these can be found further up the coast at Bramble Bush Bay near Shell beach.

Fort Henry

Then Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and Allied Supreme Commander, Dwight D Eisenhower, watched Exercise Smash from Fort Henry above Middle Beach.

You can still visit Fort Henry today and view the bay just as Churchill did. Follow the South West Coastal Path from the car park at Middle Beach. 

A memorial

Tragically, on 4 April 1944 many of the amphibious tanks sank and six lives were lost. A memorial to those who died stands alongside Fort Henry.

An aristocratic escape

The aristocratic Bankes family, who once owned Corfe Castle and Kingston Lacy spent summers at their Studland residence, now a popular hotel called ‘The Pig on the Beach’. 

The summer residence was ideally placed to gain easy access to the sandy beach. Henrietta Bankes and her son Ralph frequently spent time as a family on the beach.

On his death in 1981 Ralph Bankes bequeathed the Bankes estate, including Studland, Corfe Castle and Kingston Lacy, to the National Trust.

Studland’s sand dunes 

Studland beach and its dunes haven’t always existed. Sand began being deposited on the eastern shore of the Studland peninsula only about 500 years ago.

The beach today is just the seaward edge of a dune system that’s been growing ever since. 

Little Sea

It was this growth that formed a barrier that created Little Sea, a freshwater lake that’s separate from the sea. The dunes are still growing. In fact, the dunes are growing at more than one metre per year at the northern end of the peninsula. 

How dunes are formed 

Dunes are formed as wind blows sand up from the beach into mounds and ridges. They continue to blow around until they’re stabilised by the dune marram grass.

The Studland dunes are unusual as they’re made of acidic sand with very low shell content.