By Hollie Carr

A COMPANY has raised a cool £2,000 from its special range of ice creams inspired by the Jurassic coast.

Purbeck Ice Cream has teamed up with the Jurassic Coast Trust to give 100 children the opportunity to take part in one of ten guided walks across the palaeontological site of the Dinosaur Footprints of Keates Quarry which is located in the village of Worth Matravers.

Since launching the Jurassic Range in late 2017, the company has raised donations for the Jurassic Coast Trust, all in addition to sponsoring the dinosaur footprints walks.

These donations enable the Jurassic Coast Trust to protect the coast, ensuring that it retains its UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

The Trust’s guided walks are all led by 'Jurassic Coast Ambassadors', local people with a passion for the Jurassic Coast who give their time voluntarily to help people understand more about the World Heritage Site. Moe than 240 people have attended this year’s walks.

Louise Osborne, who took part, said: “I just wanted to say how brilliant the walk was, and that Jurassic Coast Ambassador, Julian, was such a great guide. He had a lovely friendly manner, clearly extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and so patient answering the children’s questions.”

The walks start at the famous Square and Compass pub in Worth Matravers, and involve a gentle walk across Purbeck’s rolling hills before arriving at Keates Quarry.

Here, more than 100 dinosaur footprints have been preserved in rock. Scientists believe they were made by giant plant-eating sauropods during the late Jurassic period, 145 million years ago.

The site is owned and managed by the National Trust.

Guy Kerr, of the Jurassic Coast Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have collaborated with Purbeck Ice Cream on this year’s dinosaur footprints walks, and are thrilled that they have been so popular with the general public.

"Keates Quarry gives visitors an opportunity to travel back through million of years of time, and we love sharing its stories with people through our amazing local ambassadors.”

Donna White of Purbeck Ice Cream said: “We are pleased to have sponsored this year’s dinosaur footprints walks and to have enabled 100 children to explore Keates Quarry. We believe it’s important to give something back to help protect our local environment, and to inspire people to understand it better and to look after it. Keates Quarry is located less than a mile from the farm where we make our ice cream, so this collaboration is very close to our hearts.”

Purbeck Ice Cream’s Jurassic Range includes Dig-A-Saurus, Ammonite Bites, Purbeck Rocks, and Skull-Diggery. The range is available through numerous local outlets as well as at events across Dorset and beyond, including the Chelsea Flower Show. The Trust’s last Keates Quarry walk of 2019 takes place on Wednesday 30 October. Tickets are £6 for adults and free for children, and can be booked at jurassiccoast.org/shop