Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP)

You walk into a converted Victorian building in Christchurch and suddenly you're surrounded by plastic - but not in the throwaway sense. The Museum of Design in Plastics takes this maligned material seriously, showing how it shaped everything from 1950s kitchenware to contemporary design. It's fascinating, properly curated, and nowhere near as gimmicky as it sounds.

The collection spans decades of objects that most of us grew up with but never thought twice about. Tupperware, vintage telephones, children's toys, furniture - all the stuff that defined post-war Britain. You get a real sense of how plastic was genuinely revolutionary, how people got excited about its possibilities before we all got wise to the environmental cost.

Allow a couple of hours if you're genuinely interested in design history. If you're just killing time on a rainy afternoon, ninety minutes covers it comfortably. Families with older kids will find it engaging; younger ones might struggle without a specific focus. Historians and designers will eat it up.

The location works well for a caravan holiday based around Dorset. Meadowbank Holidays sits just 3.9 miles away, making it an easy detour from your pitch. Oakdene Forest Park and Forest Edge are nearby alternatives if you're staying further out. Drop into the museum on a quieter day - weekends can draw coach parties - and you'll have proper room to look around. It's the kind of place that rewards lingering.