Hooken Beach

The walk down to Hooken Beach is half the appeal. You descend through woodland to a dramatic stretch of shale and pebbles where the cliffs rear up behind you like a fortress, and it feels properly remote despite being within spitting distance of Seaton. The beach itself is a geologist's paradise - fossils are genuinely everywhere if you know what you're looking for, and even if you don't, the bands of different coloured stone in the cliffs are striking enough to hold anyone's attention for an hour.

It's the kind of place that rewards a slow morning rather than a dash. Families with younger kids might find the shingle a bit punishing on the feet and the walk back uphill moderately knackering, but older children and keen fossil hunters will be in their element. There's no facilities on the beach itself - no ice cream van, no loos - so bring what you need.

If you're staying at Beer Head Holiday Park just down the coast, you could easily incorporate this into a longer clifftop walk, or use it as a quieter alternative to the more crowded stretches near Seaton. Oakdown, the higher-rated park three miles inland, makes a solid base for exploring this whole section of the Jurassic Coast. Hooken works best on a clear day when the light picks out the rock formations. Skip it in heavy rain - the shale gets slippery and the view becomes a grey wash.