Primrose Fields

What a lot there is to do around this Wareham-based site, including many options without even having to fire up the car engine: the Frome Valley Trail is close to hand and the quiet country lanes around these parts are just the ticket for gentle cycling. The Bovington Tank Museum and the Jurassic Coast are both easily accessible from the site.

Take a picnic or a catch of local fish and chips down to the grassy riverbank opposite the quay in Wareham for a restful afternoon, or wander around the town's Saxon defence walls for views in all directions. Another good walk is the Two Rivers one down to the backwaters of Poole Harbour, but if you’d rather get out on the water than look at it, you can hire a canoe, kayak or paddleboard for lazy drifting up the Frome.

If you do decide to drive, the fab beaches, countryside and attractions of Purbeck and West Dorset are a short distance away. There's also the birdwatching and nature spotting of the RSPB Arne nature reserve just south of Wareham; splendid old Corfe Castle a 10-minute drive from there, and a steam train from the castle surrounds to the seaside resort and sandy beach of Swanage. North of Swanage is the sandy National Trust-managed Studland Bay.

Drive west from Swanage for some spectacular coastline starting at Durlston Country Park, past Dancing Ledge with its puffin colony and plunge pool cut into the rock, and then on to Seacombe, Winspit and St Aldhelms Head: the Primrose Fields team reckon all this is best combined with a cider brewed by Charlie on site and a homemade pasty at the Square and Compass at Worth Matravers (there's a fossil museum here too).

Finally, if you're up for some cycling, get along to the mix of offroad trails and quiet back lanes around Purbeck, or the quiet family-friendly Sika Trail in Wareham Forest. Purbeck Cycle Hire at Wareham station provides a detailed map of suggested routes in the area.