Family Beaches in Dorset
Things to Do: Beaches
A long, coarse sandy beach that is overlooked by cliffs and farmland. The water is clean but there are strong currents and care should be taken when swimming.
This is an ideal beach for families and has plenty of soft sand for making sand castles. Canoes and deck chairs are also available for hire depending on how active you’re feeling.
The beach is in a quiet rural location and is ideal for those who are looking for a peaceful day out. It was once used by smugglers and is now a popular location for fossil hunters.
Shell Bay is a beautiful sandy beach with easy access by road or ferry. The fine sand is ideal for building sand castles and there are dunes to explore too. There is also a woodland nature trail behind the beach.
Chesil Beach, Portland to Abbotsbury, Dorset
Chesil Beach is 18 miles (28 kilometres) long and, on average, 200 metres wide and rises to 14 metres height. It is a shingle tombolo connecting Portland to Abbotsbury and then continuing westwards to West Bay near Bridport. It is the largest tombolo in the UK.
Pebbles are graded in size from fist sized near Portland to pea sized at Bridport. The pebbles are a mix of flint and chert, with some quartzite pebbles from Buddleigh Salterton. The origin of the beach continues to be argued over with some proposing it is actually two beaches. The stretch from West Bay to Abbotsbury appears to have different characteristics to the stretch from Abbotsbury to Portland.
