Best beaches in Dorset
Dorset's UNESCO World Heritage Jurassic Coast offers 95 miles of extraordinary beaches, from Durdle Door's dramatic limestone arch to Bournemouth's golden sands. This diverse coastline combines millions of years of geological history with world-class seaside experiences, offering everything from wild fossil-hunting shores to family-friendly resorts and exclusive beach retreats.
A remote sand spit reachable only on foot or by ferry, lined with some of Britain's most expensive beach huts.
A horseshoe-shaped cove carved into limestone on the Jurassic Coast, one of Britain's most studied examples of coastal geology.
An 18-mile barrier beach of pebbles graded steadily in size along its length — one of Britain's most closely studied stretches of coast.
A Blue Flag beach backed by limestone cliffs, at the heart of Swanage's Victorian seaside resort.
An exclusive peninsula beach known for its watersports scene, with a chain ferry crossing straight over to Studland and Shell Bay.
Seven miles of sand backing one of Britain's original Victorian seaside resorts, still one of the largest beaches on the south coast.
A natural limestone arch rising straight out of the sea, one of the most photographed stretches of coastline in Britain.
The town's main beach, sand giving way to shingle at a jetty that runs down to the Cobb, Lyme Regis's historic harbour wall.
A broad sweep of sand backed by a Georgian esplanade and regularly rated among Britain's best, with Bowleaze Cove a short walk along the bay.
At the mouth of Poole Harbour, the first stop off the Sandbanks chain ferry, looking straight across the water to Sandbanks itself.
A small sand and pebble beach below St Michael's Church, used as a filming location for The French Lieutenant's Woman.
Tucked between the seawall and the Cobb's breakwater, separate from Lyme Regis's main beach next door — regularly raked and a favourite with families.
Named after the Duke of Monmouth, who landed here in 1685 — a pebble beach west of the Cobb that opens onto the wild Undercliff.
Britain's premier fossil-hunting beach, part of the same stretch of coast where Mary Anning made her famous 19th-century discoveries.
Backed by open heathland with strong family facilities, and the home of Studland's naturist beach section.
The smallest and quietest of Studland's beaches, right by the village — and the start of the coastal walk to Old Harry Rocks.
A sheltered family cove just along the coast from Weymouth, opening onto wide views across the whole of Weymouth Bay.
Mile-long shingle stretch beneath red cliffs providing excellent fishing and tramway access to the Axe Valley.
An upscale beach a short stretch along the coast from Sandbanks, with its own strong beach-hut and watersports reputation.