Bennetts Water Gardens

The water gardens here are a proper surprise if you're camping near Weymouth - the kind of place you stumble upon while exploring the Chesil Beach area and think, why hasn't anyone told me about this? Bennett's Water Gardens is essentially a working aquatic plant nursery turned visitor attraction, where the owners have clearly spent years building up something genuinely interesting rather than trying to be everything to everyone.

What you get is ponds, waterways, and planted beds stuffed with water lilies, marginal plants, and the sort of botanical oddities that make gardeners go weak at the knees. It's not a theme park. There are no rides, no concessions stand, no costumed characters. It's just plants, water, and plenty of quiet. Kids will either love spotting fish and frogs or get bored after twenty minutes, depending entirely on their temperament - so come with realistic expectations.

If you're based at East Fleet Farm or Haven Littlesea, you're less than a mile away, which makes it a brilliant hour's detour on a flat day. Bring a camera if you're into photography; the reflections on the water are genuinely lovely. Plant enthusiasts will want to allow longer and possibly bring a notebook.

Admission details are thin on the ground online, so ring ahead from your campsite before you go. The gardens are close enough to Chesil Beach Lodge Park and Bowleaze Cove to fit neatly into a coastal holiday without any faffing about with long drives. Summer is the obvious time - the water plants put on their best show May through September.