Portland Bill

The walk out to Portland Bill is genuinely rewarding - about twenty minutes across what feels like the edge of the world. You're standing on a promontory that juts into the English Channel, and on a clear day you get views across to France and back along the Dorset coast that stretch for miles.

There's a working lighthouse here, still operational, and a little visitors' centre explains its history without being patronising about it. The rocks below are dramatic - proper jagged stuff that makes you understand why ships have foundered in these waters. Bring binoculars if you're keen on bird watching; the bill is a major migration point and you'll see everything from gannets to the occasional rarer sighting.

It's free to walk around, though the museum charges admission if you want the full story. Allow an hour minimum, longer if the light's good and you fancy sitting on the rocks with a sandwich. The path itself is straightforward but can be windy - hold onto your hat.

For families with younger kids, it's engaging enough for an hour but they might find the views less thrilling than you do. The nearby Chesil Beach Holiday Park at Weymouth is well-placed if you want to base yourself nearby - from there you're fifteen minutes from Portland Bill, and with Weymouth's own attractions just down the road, you could build a proper coastal day around it. Go when the weather's decent; grey and drizzly, it loses something of its punch.