Dorset holiday parks
Dorset is a feast of rural beauty and stunning coastline, 95 miles of which is preserved as England’s first natural World Heritage Site - the Jurassic Coast, imprinted with 185 million years of Earth’s history in rocks and fossils.
The port of Lyme Regis, set on steep Georgian streets above Lyme Bay, was the setting for the novel and film, The French Lieutenant’s Woman. Lulworth Cove features the great natural stone arch of Durdle Door. To the south is Chesil Beach, its smooth pebbles polished by the action of waves, immortalised in Ian McEwan’s eponymous novel. At the eastern end of Chesil Beach is Abbotsbury where you can see the Swannery’s colony of mute swans, or delight in the 20 acres of subtropical gardens.
Pretty Ringstead Bay is a must for keen rock-poolers and snorkelers and has great views across to Weymouth and Portland. Not far away you will find Corfe Castle, the ruined medieval castle perched above the pretty village. Amongst Dorset’s rich heritage there is the Iron Age camp at Badbury Rings and the Cerne Abbas Giant.
Dorset is also Thomas Hardy country and it is wonderful to identify with the views and places that inspired his novels. There is much to see - the view from Gold Hill down on to the steeply cobbled streets of Shaftesbury, and Milton Abbas, which has been rated the prettiest village in England.
For the kids there is always refuge in Monkey World, Adventure Wonderland theme park, the Dorset Tank Musuem and Bournemouth with its great beach, Oceanarium and piers.
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