Holme Lane Camping

Get to know the Jurassic Coast (15 minutes) by taking long walks along the ever-shifting shingle at Chesil Beach (45 minutes), or pick up a picnic in pretty Wareham (20 minutes) to eat beachside at gorgeous Lulworth Cove (15 minutes). Hike the South West Coast Path to the imposing Tyneham Cap clifftops (10 minutes), or have a lazy day on the sandy beach at Studland Bay (15 minutes). Take the ferry from Sandbanks (half an hour) to National Trust-owned Brownsea Island to see if you can spot the breeding colony of rare red squirrels. For more urban trips out, have meander around the yacht marina in Poole (20 minutes), admire the wacky waterfront Sea Music Sculpture and stop off for a pint of Dorset cider in an old-world pub. If kids are with you, they’ll most likely thank you for blissful days spent scrambling around muddy obstacle courses at Dorset Adventure Park (10 minutes), or the chance to pet piglets and cutesy Valais Blacknose lambs (in season) at Farmer Palmer’s Farm Park (15 minutes).