Pulpit Rock

The walk out to Pulpit Rock from Weymouth rewards you with one of those rare coastal moments that actually lives up to the hype. This natural rock formation juts out into the water like a preacher's lectern, hence the name, and it's accessible on foot from the shingle beach at low tide. You'll be crunching across Chesil Beach itself - that famous mile-long pebble ridge - which is quite the experience underfoot.

The rock itself isn't massive, but the setting is what counts. On a clear day you get proper views along the Dorset coast, and there's something satisfying about standing on something that's been battered by the sea for millennia. Allow a couple of hours including the beach walk, longer if you're bringing kids who'll want to poke around the rockpools and skip stones. Timing matters: you need low tide to reach it safely, so check the tide tables before you head out. Winter can be brutal weather-wise, but spring and early summer are lovely for this sort of outing.

It's an ideal add-on if you're staying at Waterside or Chesil Beach Holiday Park in Weymouth - both are within spitting distance. The walk is manageable for most fitness levels, though the pebbles are tough on the knees. History buffs will appreciate that you're literally standing on geological formations that tell the story of the Jurassic Coast. Not a rushed-through-in-twenty-minutes kind of place, which is exactly why it's worth the effort.