Plenty for kids to do in Enid Blyton country. Studland Bay was the setting for Noddy and it’s sure to inspire your kids to gulp down a bit of sea air. It’s a huge beach with gently shelving paddle-friendly waters and dunes perfect for roly-poly. Swim at Knoll Beach. Or get down to Lulworth Cove and Kimmeridge Bay and dig for fossils.
Visit a 65-acre sanctuary at Monkey World for over 250 primates. Discover a miniature world at Corfe Castle Model Village. Or delve deep into history at Corfe Castle itself. Take the ferry to Brownsea Island for woodland, wetlands and wildlife. Or head to Farmer Palmer’s for a massive range of indoor and outdoor attractions.
Walk to the Cobb at Lyme Regis and meet the marine life of the Jurassic coast at the Lyme Regis Aquarium. Steam through the hills on the Swanage Railway. Beat the oldies at mini golf in Lister Gardens, then beat them at table tennis. Don’t forget the boardwalk stroll and seafront gardens.
Handle a snake or feed the birds at Axe Valley Wildlife Park. Take your dad to the Bovington Camp Tank Museum. See the cygnets hatch at Abbotsbury Swannery. Or ride the finest 7.25-gauge railway in the country at Pecorama, with great views over Lyme Bay and the Jurassic Coast.
Climb indoors or out with Rockburn at Bridport, shoot with The Tunnel or try real tennis at Hyde Real Tennis Club, at one of only 50 such courts worldwide. Trot the country lanes with Sandford Stables, shoot clay at Wyld Court or brave the high ropes and zip wires at Tunnel Treetops.
Recover from your exertions with a tour and a pint of Dorset Gold at Palmer’s Brewery. Before that, take a leisurely ride around the countryside with Bridport Cycles or take on the par-71 clifftop course at Lyme Regis Golf Club with stunning views over Portland Bill and Lyme Regis.
Walk (without the frustration of having to hit fairways) between Coney’s Castle and Lambert’s Castle above Wootton Fitzpaine. Get geological on Chesil Beach, a 15-mile shingle bank separated from the land by a brackish lagoon. Hunt for fossils in Charmouth, paddleboard at West Bay or fish from boats with Harry May.
Take a wood-fired sauna on the beach with views over the coast at Shoreline Sauna. Ride a fast rib out on the high seas with Lyme Bay Rib Charter. Or head back into history at A La Ronde in Exmouth, Mapperton Manor and Gardens, Forde Abbey, Thomas Hardy’s cottage and TE Lawrence (of Arabia)’s cottage.
