Before this summer, if you had asked what Dorset meant to me, I would have answered “Bournemouth”. This county in southwest England was not somewhere I had often visited, but it conjured up memories of beaches and grandparents (mine went twice every year). What it did not suggest was the perfect destination for a teenage boy.
It turns out that Dorset is for all ages. The county is not just beautiful (which appeals to me), but offers activities galore, from fossil hunting to windsurfing, which are perfect for teens.
The beaches are gorgeous, it’s not as much of a schlep to get to as Cornwall, and it has everything that county has, and perhaps more. After all, the Dorset coastline boasts World Heritage status, and the rocks span 190 million years of history.
Our son, Jack, wasn’t overly excited about going, especially as he would be without his siblings — one was on Israel tour, while the oldest was on another rite of passage — inter-railing. But he has now realised that, despite his fears, you can’t get bored in Dorset.
We stayed near Weymouth, a lovely traditional seaside town with a huge, sandy (and very busy) beach and an extremely calm, safe and shallow sea, thanks to the natural marvel that is Chesil Beach — more on that later.
You can walk, or catch a little train, to Lodmoor and visit the SeaLife Adventure Park with its variety of marine life, including sharks, sea turtles and especially the fairy penguins; the world’s smallest penguin species, this is the only British colony.
There is a splash zone and adventure park for younger children, but we were happy to try 18 holes at the Pirate Adventure mini golf next door. As crazy golf aficionados, we were impressed.
From Weymouth, we headed to Chesil Beach, stopping off at the visitor centre. This is free and definitely worth a look as it’s very interactive and genuinely informative.
It also set us up well for seeing the beach itself, which is spectacular — a bank of 180 billion differently- sized pebbles which stretches for 18 miles and rises to 12 metres high.
The beach is attached to the Isle of Portland, another of Dorset’s many picturesque spots, home to the OTC (Official Test Centre), a windsurfing, kitesurfing and stand up paddling centre located within the grounds of the National Sailing Academy.
The perfect place for Jack to try windsurfing, it’s a terrific for water-based activities. He loved his lesson, although there’ll be fewer chances to continue in north London!
Then on the southerly tip of the island is the lighthouse at Portland Bill. Stop here for an ice-cream and a walk — including some clambering over rocks — as it’s stunning.
But there’s far more of beautiful Dorset to see. We hired bikes and rode around Bowleaze Cove, a few miles east of Weymouth, and further afield.
One of the best ways to sightsee, although be warned that some of the cycle lanes end without warning and you are then suddenly on the road. Bowleaze itself is pleasant, with an ice cream parlour, cafe and small beach with rockpools.
Our next adrenaline thrill came at Dorset’s Adventure Park on the Isle of Purbeck — actually a peninsula where you can visit Corfe Castle along the way, run by the National Trust with various activities for children.
Built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, it’s famously the inspiration for Kirrin Castle in Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books.
Having admired the ruins and considered a cream tea in the tiny village, Jack had possibly his favourite day of the whole trip.
We had never been anywhere like this aqua assault course, and it is brilliantly done with 150 metres of inflatable obstacles across two different lakes.
Jumping on a trampoline on the water was huge fun, even if I wasn’t great at clambering across the inflatables. Jack, however, was fantastic.
And that’s all before you come to the jewels in Dorset’s very large crown: Charmouth Beach, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door.
On the 95-mile Jurassic Coast, the seaside village of Charmouth near Lyme Regis is known for its fossils — it was where Mary Anning found the first complete dinosaur skeleton, an Ichthyosaur, in 1811.
We were fortunate enough to have a tour led by Mr Fossil himself, Martin Curtis, and spent a genuinely fascinating hour discussing and handling fossils to get some idea of what we might see.
The next two hours were spent along the beach where Martin pointed out fossils to us.
It was very special to handle objects that were 190 million years old and I have to say that without Martin I don’t think we would have found any!
Coming home with a bag of ammonites and belemnites, I can’t recommend this unusual way to spend an afternoon highly enough.
And if Charmouth Beach is pretty, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door are absolute must-sees. Lulworth is clearly on the international tourist track as we saw more foreign tourists there than anywhere else.
But, if you ignore the massive carpark (no one can drive down to the cove — fortunately), it is glorious, with white pebbles surrounding an incredibly clear sea.
You can walk to Durdle Door across the cliffs from Lulworth and personally, I loved this natural marvel even more.
Durdle actually means drill in Old English and that explains just how this iconic arch was formed, around 10,000 years ago, by waves piercing the limestone rock and forging a hole through the middle.
We swam in the (cold) sea and took an inordinate amount of photographs, but they can’t capture the utter beauty of this wonderful place.
With the sun shining all week, I don’t feel any foreign holiday could have been better than our Dorset trip — and with our teen firmly won over too, we’re already planning to return.
Perhaps next time we might even make it to Bournemouth!
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