Nookey hole

There's something slightly mad about crawling into a cave that sits bang in the middle of Portland's limestone cliffs. Nookey Hole is exactly what it sounds like - a proper little cavern carved into the rock face, accessible enough that you can actually get inside without ropes and specialist gear. It's the sort of thing that takes maybe twenty minutes to explore properly, though kids will want to poke about for longer.

The cave itself isn't vast. You're looking at narrow passages, low ceilings in places, and the kind of geological formations that make sense once you remember that Portland limestone has been getting dissolved by water for thousands of years. Bring a torch - the daylight doesn't reach far in. The real appeal here is the novelty of it rather than the sheer scale. Families with primary-school-age children tend to get the most from it; teenagers might find it a bit underwhelming unless they're genuinely into caves.

It's free to access and there's no formal visitor centre, which means it's refreshingly unbureaucratic. Weymouth sits just four miles away, making this an easy half-morning activity if you're staying at one of the nearby parks like Waterside or Chesil Beach Holiday Park. Combine it with a walk along the cliffs or a visit to Portland itself and you've got a solid morning sorted. The real draw is that it feels like actual exploration rather than a packaged attraction.