15 Things to Do in Dorset: Best Beaches, Attractions & Hidden Gems
A Muddy Stop at Burnham-on-Sea, Dorset
With the car packed and the dog walked, we were ready to start our journey south to Dorset! Our journey was broken by a short stop after 3 hours at Burnham-on-Sea, to give the dog a short walk. We ended up on the beach much to the dog’s delight, but I failed to see warning signs about mud flats and in just a few steps I was up to my ankles in mud and my nice white trainers were no longer nice white trainers… I wasn’t even sure they were going to stay attached to my feet as I pulled them out of the mud. After a brief lunch and failed shoe cleaning session, we set off on the rest of the journey to Lyme Regis.
Things to Do in Lyme Regis: Fossils, Fish & Harbour Views
Lyme Regis, a Jurassic Coast gem, was much hillier than I expected and to find our bearings and a vague idea of what the town offered, we set out on a walk, taking in the sights and sounds of the town and the unmistakable smell of fish and chips from the many outlets in town. Walking east along the promenade are cliffs and bedrock which highlight why this area is known as the Jurassic Coast. Mary Anning’s, a renowned fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist in the early 1800s, statue overlooks this area. Mary became well known due to her discoveries of fossils in the Jurassic marine fossil beds of Lyme Regis, greatly enhancing understanding of prehistoric life. On the rocky beaches, we saw people sit with hammers gently hitting rocks in the hope that they uncover a fossil. For those who want a more educational insight into fossils, the museum runs fossil trips where guides take you along the beach and explain the best areas to search and which rocks to look for. Particularly helpful if you are searching for elusive dinosaur poo… He will then confirm your find or let you down easily… and we found a fossil… a small one but a fossil nonetheless.
At the other end of town is the Cobb Harbour, where you can indulge in a boat trip or even crabbing and fishing. Walking along the top of the harbour walls and the town gardens both offer lovely sea views, cafes, and a pitch-and-put course. The best sunset pictures I found were from the end of Cobb harbour as the sun sets behind the headland to the west, and watching the harbour stands the statue of the man who found Bermuda (but obviously not the Bermuda triangle), Sir George Somerset. If you want to escape the crowds for an hour or so, then from the centre of town, there is a river walk to Uplyme, which is very pretty, and we managed to spot some thatched cottages and even one with a water wheel.
Seaton to Beer: Coastal Walks & Clifftop Views in Dorset
The next day started early, and we were on the beach for 6:15am for the beautiful Dorset sunrise. The beach and promenade were deserted apart from us, lots of seagulls, and a few brave open water swimmers… brr. It was a magical experience watching the sunrise over the ocean and well worth the early start!
Our next stop, at a more civilised time, was Seaton, a small English seaside town with a promenade and a pebble beach. We planned to walk along the beach to Beer but forgot to consider tidal times, so we had to use the alternative route involving a “slight incline” as I had to describe to my reluctant husband who has an aversion to “steep hill.” An old red telephone box being used by a local artist to sell examples of his work for charity sits at the start of the cliff, … oops, I mean slight incline, which gives a lovely view of Seaton before you descend into Beer, a very small pretty seaside town with a beautiful cove with cafes on the beach. After a quick lunch on the beach, we set off on our walk back to Seaton. By now the tide had gone out sufficiently, and so our final stage of the walk, after reclimbing and descending the cliff once more, was along the beach. Here we came across an area where there had been a landslide leaving a large tree stump still upright! This was a lovely 5-mile round trip walk which I would recommend despite some steep sections!
Exploring Weymouth & Portland
Weymouth and Portland were places I wanted to visit when exploring Dorset, and I was keen to see what both places had to offer. Weymouth is a fairly large seaside town. One end of the beach is very fine sand where they have sand sculpture competitions during the holiday seasons, while the other end is a pebble beach. There is a harbour with a large marina, a fort, and a castle along with the usual supply of cafes and shops. The marina area and estuary are stunning with hundreds of boats, and we had fun trying to find the most amusing or unusual boat names as we walked around, including the RNLI lifeboat ‘Ernest and Mabel’ as well as The Roaring Cougar and COO-EE. Portland island lies just a few miles south of Weymouth and hosted much of the sailing events for the 2012 London Olympics. Although the weather was glorious, there was a strong breeze at the top of Portland island, which is the home of the Tout Quarry Sculpture Park, (free) which not only provides around 60 stone sculptures but amazing views of the famous Chesil Beach. After a lovely baked potato lunch at “The Island Café,” we moved onto Portland Bill lighthouse and Pulpit Rock, but we didn’t stay for long, as despite the sunshine, it was so windy and quite cold, but again magnificent views. Our last stop was Church Ope Cove, an area that smugglers of the past made use of. To reach the cove, you pass the ruins of the old church and graveyard said to contain pirate graves, but many of the stones were very hard to read due to their age, so we did not manage to find any that day. Further along the path and up many steps, you can see the Rufus Castle ruins.
Exploring Dorset’s, Corfe Castle: History, Steam Trains & Stone-Built Charm
Yet more sunshine and a visit to Corfe Castle! Situated near the town of Wareham, on the way to the castle is a Ministry of Defence site, prompting many squeals of delight when we saw two of what I would call road tanks. This, however, was nothing to the screams of joy when we passed and I quote “a proper tank…. and it has L plates!!!” Top Tip: The castle is a National Trust property with a car park at the base of the hill, but by the time we left at 1 pm, it was full, and this was midweek during term time, so go early or prepare to have to search for alternative parking. The castle is a large ruin but has lots of interesting nooks and crannies to explore and some amazing views. An unexpected bonus was the sight and sound of a steam train passing just across the road. A fabulous setting for artistic photos and any castle lover. The town of Corfe Castle itself is a quiet historical setting and many of the thatched houses were built using the stone from the castle as it fell into disrepair over the years. There were several cafes and pubs to choose from for lunch, however, we decided to have a snack instead and visited the local bakers. They had a good range of fresh sandwiches and cakes, the apricot Danish was delicious, providing us with a lovely lunch at a fraction of the price of a cafe. (There are picnic tables beside the nearby river).
Lulworth Cove & Durdle Door: Jurassic Coast Icons
Our final destinations of the day were to Lulworth Cove and a walk up and over a very steep cliff to the famous Durdle Door. Which is arguably one of the most famous attractions in Dorset. This walk is just 45 minutes but is not for the unfit! (You can take your car and park at the top of the hill overlooking Durdle Door instead), which cuts the hill climbing significantly. Beware the car park prices are not for the faint-hearted either, at £12.80 for 4 hours! This does, however, let you move the car between the cove, Durdle Door, and Lulworth Castle on the same ticket. The cove is a perfect circle and yet again a stunning location both at sea level and from above for photos. The walk, although hard, is enjoyable and adds to the experience. Reaching Durdle Door you then have approximately 130 steps down to the beach to get the best views. This was a great day for all of us and I’d fully recommend the Castle, Cove, and Durdle Door as a day you will not forget.
Sidmouth’s Surprising Red Cliffs
Following the last few busy days, we decided to take it a bit easier and headed West to Sidmouth. The cliffs came as the largest shock to us. They were red, not white! All the other cliffs we had seen were white other than small sections where landslides had taken place over the years, but in Sidmouth, every single cliff for miles in either direction was red/orange in colour. They were stunning and made a great background for our photos. The other standout feature was the crashing waves on the promenade and along the beach. I could watch waves breaking all day long, and the power and force of the waves as they crashed to shore took my breath away. Sadly, Ozzie the dog was not so convinced and was a little frightened at times by the roar of the sea and the fact that he kept getting soaked when he was not expecting it as they broke onto the promenade. At the far end of the town are the very pretty Connaught Gardens with a small cafe and numerous park benches with wonderful views along the beaches to sea stacks, which sadly we were not able to walk out to due to the tides.
Discovering Branscombe Village
Returning to Lyme Regis, we called into Branscombe. Tiny, tiny roads led us past thatched cottages to the village. A 20-minute walk from the centre where parking was limited led us to another pebble beach with large beach chalets supported by stilts available for rent. We had parked behind the village hall where instructions stated that donations for parking should be left in the village well! (We subsequently found another large parking lot on the outskirts). Given the road in being so small we decided to try another route out and we were happy to see a sign saying the road on the right was for HGV vehicles …… personally I don’t know any HGV drivers that drive down single track roads with grass down the middle, So if you do decide to visit drive carefully and hope you don’t meet any HGV Vehicles coming the other way!
Sculpture & Lakes
For our final day we drove out to Sculpture by the lakes, and what a find that was. Dogs are allowed but children are not (lots of deep water on site) …. Unusual but fine by us! This is a stunning setting with 120 sculptures set within the park, all shapes and sizes and all stunning in their own way. Lots and lots of pictures were taken as you can imagine. If you want to eat there, you can buy “picnic” things from the pantry or book a table at the on site restaurant. They also have a gallery of paintings and more sculptures available to buy…. but you will have to have very deep pockets!
Is Dorset Worth It?
And so our week away came to a close. Fabulous places to visit and fabulous weather added to the experience. Would I do it all again ? Absolutely. I couldn’t recommend Dorset enough for those who want to explore the South of the UK. In fact, I have already booked to go back next year! To learn more about Dorset, explore another 50 unique things to do in Dorset to make your prefect, customisable Dorset itinerary.
