Summer is our busiest time at the Wild Seas Centre in Kimmeridge Bay. The first two weeks of the school summer holidays are when the Wildlife Trusts celebrate National Marine Week. This year it runs from Saturday 26 July to Sunday 10 August, and here in Dorset we have a varied, action-packed programme which includes art exhibitions, boat cruises, seashore rambles, craft and science activities and much more. You can find our full National Marine Week events listing here. 

I think there is no better summer wildlife experience than, on a sunny day, swimming the Kimmeridge Snorkel Trail, followed by an exploration of the rockpools, topped off by a visit to the Wild Seas Centre’s aquarium and displays. If you are new to snorkeling and would like to give it a try, volunteers at the Centre will be happy to advise on the best times and tides and can even hire you a mask and snorkel. We like nothing more than helping someone come face to face with a curious crab or flighty fish in the shallows of the bay.

Summer is the time of year when young marine creatures are growing, filling the rockpools with youngsters hatched from eggs laid in the spring. As water warms and sunlight strengthens, the wide variety of seaweed produces oxygen bubbles as they photosynthesise. Look for this in the rockpools on a calm, sunny day. Seaweed also creates cool, shady cover for all manner of sea creatures – gently reach beneath the seaweed in a rockpool to feel the temperature difference they provide on a hot day. Please follow the Seashore Code to ensure this remains a safe haven for marine wildlife. 

The Wild Seas Centre, by the slipway in Kimmeridge Bay, will be open daily until 2 November 2025. Throughout July and August opening times are 10.30am – 5pm. 

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