It’s no great secret that Dorset is a fantastic place for a holiday. Its Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site, vast swathes of its countryside are a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and its beaches and seaside towns have been immortalised in books and films for years. The only secret is knowing where to pitch your tent in this endlessly attractive county. Lean in and we’ll give you one good option: Friar Waddon House. The campsite here manages to be both in the middle of nowhere and slap-bang in the middle of the action. It’s a quiet camping field, six miles north of Chesil Beach with prime fossil-hunting spots Lyme Regis and Kimmeridge Bay equidistant east and west.
All who can fit in the spacious 10m by 10m pitches are welcome here: tents, campervans, small caravans and motorhomes. And while this type of all inclusivity is often associated with the neat rows of a holiday park, this place is more casual than that. It’s a couple of fields with 30 loosely-marked out pitches and a gravel track running through. Elisa, who runs the show, will meet you on arrival and let you choose your spot. Campfires are welcome as long as they are kept in off-ground fire pits and if you haven’t got one, you can hire one on site. Facilities are more simple than the utilitarian blocks of a holiday park too; just a couple of compost loos, hot shower cabins and an outdoor sink for washing up. Low-key and eco-friendly, some may be put off by the simplicity while others will think it part of the attraction.
The site is in a sheltered dip in the hills of the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with the fields of a working farm all around. It’s a peaceful place to hang out and you can head out on foot for bracing walks – up one side of the valley is the Jubilee Way, while up the other is the South Dorset Ridgeway, which offers a popular hiking route to Hardy’s Monument starting with a steep climb. If that’s too energetic take a trip to Upwey Wishing Well Tea Rooms and Water Gardens for a gentle meander and a Dorset cream tea or spend the day at Abbotsbury Swannery, just six miles down the road. While the countryside alone is worth travelling for, the coast is surely the main draw. The seaside town of Weymouth and unique, dramatic and historic Chesil beach are the closest choices but all of the Jurassic Coast is perfectly accessible from this central spot, in the middle of nowhere.
Friar Waddon is five minutes' drive away from Portesham village where there's a pub and a shop. Standing above the village (about three miles from site) is Hardy's Monument, keen walkers might like to hike up to see it. The whole area is within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with lots of great walking and cycling. Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens is six miles from site and just along the road from the Abbotsbury Swannery, buy a ticket for both for a discount. Weymouth Sealife centre (01305 761070) is about the same distance and the gently shelving beach is the closest to site. Unusual Chesil Beach is also nearby and connects with Portland Bill where a visitor centre explains the life of a lighthouse keeper. The site is positioned in the middle of Dorset's Jurassic Coast with Charmouth and Lyme Regis 25 miles to the west and Kimmeridge Bay 25 miles to the west, all excellent places for fossil hunting. The stone arch of Durdle Door and pretty Lulworth Cove are 17 miles from site with Monkey World (01929 462537), Puddletown Forest, Hardy's Birthplace and Visitor Centre, and Bovington Tank Museum (01929 405096) both within 20 miles.