Chesil Cottage

The cottage sits right on Chesil Beach itself, a proper curiosity that's been there since the 1800s. It's tiny - genuinely tiny - and these days it's privately owned, so you won't be poking about inside. But it's the setting that makes the trip worthwhile. You get to walk out along Chesil Beach with this little stone structure as your focal point, surrounded by one of England's most dramatic shingle banks.

What draws people here is partly the history (it's a working reminder of life before modern seaside tourism took hold) and partly the sheer oddness of it - why build a cottage on a beach made entirely of stones? The walk itself is the real attraction. Chesil Beach stretches for miles and the landscape is genuinely wild and unusual. It's flat, windswept, and utterly different from the soft-sand beaches you might expect from Dorset.

This works best for walkers and anyone interested in coastal geology or maritime history. Kids might find it interesting for ten minutes before getting restless on the shingle - it's not a day trip on its own. Allow an hour or so if you're combining it with a proper beach walk.

It's free to view from outside and sits about ten minutes' drive from Dorchester. If you're based at Parkdean Resorts West Bay Holiday Park, it's practically on your doorstep - West Bay is right there. The cottage makes a good stop during a longer coastal walk rather than a destination in itself.