Purbeck is a small but attractive rural district, to the south of North Dorset. This district includes landmarks like Corfe Castle, Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove which draw in a lot of tourists and visitors in the summer. This can cause problems on the small local roads but tourism does provide employment for 12% of the population. 60% of the 44800 people who live there live in the main towns including Wareham and Swanage. The other 40% live in small villages and rural areas of the district.

This year, Purbeck is hosting the first Swanage Walking Festival, a five day festival inviting people to explore the spectacular coastline and the heathlands of the district. Purbeck is also the home of Studland beach, which is often used by local schools to demonstrate succession – a perfect example with sand dunes being created by the sea, moving through the first plants colonising, all the way to the trees taking hold and forests forming.