Swanage is a small seaside town on the Dorset coast at the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose cliffs tell 185 million years of geological history. The town itself is a classic English resort, with a sandy beach, a Victorian pier, and rows of ice cream shops, but the landscape surrounding it is genuinely spectacular.
Old Harry Rocks, the dramatic chalk stacks that jut from the sea at Handfast Point, are the defining image of this stretch of coast and one of the most photographed natural features in southern England. You can walk to them from Swanage along the South West Coast Path, a stunning clifftop route that takes about an hour each way. The views back across Studland Bay and out toward the Isle of Wight are magnificent on a clear day.
The Swanage Railway, a lovingly restored heritage steam line, runs six miles inland to Corfe Castle, passing through beautiful Purbeck countryside. The castle itself, a dramatic Norman ruin on a conical hill, is one of the most evocative ruins in England and well worth the trip. You can ride the steam train there and walk around the castle village before taking the train back.
Swanage has a long history as a quarrying town, and Purbeck stone from here was used to build some of London's most famous streets. The Great Globe, a massive stone sphere near Durlston Head, was carved from local Portland stone in the 1880s and sits in a clifftop park that is one of the best spots in Britain for watching dolphins. The whole Isle of Purbeck, despite not actually being an island, is one of the most rewarding corners of the English coast.