Fossil Forest

The rocks here are genuinely ancient - we're talking 140 million years old, which does something strange to your sense of time when you're standing right in front of them. Fossil Forest is a stretch of Dorset coastline where you can actually see the fossilised remains of trees and plant life from the Jurassic period, preserved in stone along the cliffs near West Lulworth.

What makes it worth the trip is that it's real geology you can touch, not behind glass in a museum. The fossil tree stumps stick out of the rock face like something from another world - pale, weathered, unmistakably ancient. You get a proper sense of what this landscape looked like when dinosaurs roamed about. The walk to reach it takes you along beautiful clifftop paths, which is half the appeal anyway.

It's free, and you can spend anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours depending on how much geology bores or fascinates you. Families with curious kids will get more out of it than young children after their fifth outing of the day. Serious fossil hunters and geology types will genuinely lose track of time.

Plan to visit at low tide if you want proper access to the fossil-bearing rocks - check the tide tables before you go. The clifftop walk itself is excellent, so even if the fossils don't grab you, you'll get a cracking day out. Several caravan parks lie within 4-6 miles - Purbeck Glamping and Luckford Wood are closest - making this a natural half-day addition to a longer Dorset coast stay.