WAGGY PALS ARE WELCOME
FIND your own Jurassic Park on beaches sprinkled with fossils and smugglers’ caves, in delightful Dorset. It’s a dog-friendly county, with superb coastal walking. And Eype beach, in particular, welcomes dogs year-round, while being very close to Broadchurch scenery at West Bay. Golden Acre bungalows at Eype specialises in welcoming waggy guests and their owners — and there’s a dog-friendly pub and hotel bar in the village. Foodies will want to visit Mark Hix’s restaurants in Lyme Regis and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Canteen at nearby Axminster.
FROM Eastbourne s bandstands and theatres to Weymouth s seafood restaurants, sandcastles, and donkey rides, the South Coast buzzes with attractive seaside resorts. Biggest and brightest is Bournemouth, where a free air festival zooms in from August 31 to September 3, featuring everything from jets and display teams, to Royal Navy ships and live music. The 31 Bay Hotels, such as the Majestic in Bournemouth or the Royal in Weymouth, offer brilliant-value weekend and midweek breaks by the sea, with dinner, bed and breakfast and often entertainment all included in the price. These stays are also available through UK Breakaways. Or hop over to welcoming St Maur guest house in Ventnor, on the Isle of Wight, close to the botanic gardens and baroque Appuldurcombe House.