Durlston Country Park

The clifftop walk from Swanage down to Durlston Country Park is what sells this place, not the park itself. You get proper dramatic geology - those golden sandstone cliffs rise up like something out of a Cretaceous textbook, and on a clear day you can see right across the bay. The park sits at the southern edge, built around the old Durlston Castle, a Victorian folly from the 1880s that feels simultaneously daft and rather wonderful.

What you're actually doing here is coastal walking. There's a decent circular route that takes you past the castle, down to the headland, and back through the woodland. It's not strenuous, maybe an hour for the full loop if you're not taking photos every thirty seconds. The castle itself is modest inside - a few rooms with local history bits - but the real appeal is standing on the ramparts looking out at the Purbeck cliffs. Families with kids aged seven upwards will find it engaging enough. Younger children might get bored once they've exhausted the castle's two floors.

It's free to wander the park and grounds. The castle has a small entry fee if you fancy it. Go mid-week if you can; weekends bring day-trippers from Swanage and it gets a bit congested. Spring is lovely when the cliff-top flowers come through.

If you're staying at Swanage Bay View or Ulwell, you're basically on the doorstep. The park works brilliantly as a morning walk combined with a proper beach day in Swanage itself, which sits just fifteen minutes' walk up the coast.