Hobby Farm

In the height of the school holidays, when seaside campsites bulge and spread and ice-cream vans jangle their tune down on the waterfront, places like Hobby Farm can become true sanctuaries. Equidistant from Dorset’s highest point, Lewesdon Hill (three miles north), and it’s lowest, the beaches or the Jurassic Coast (three miles south), this rural retreat in Marshwood Vale is a thoroughly peaceful slice of the Dorset pie. It’s both a secluded backwater and a well-located rambler’s paradise – dogs are welcome, there’s a good pub down the lane and every local footpath leads somewhere scenic, but when you simply want to stay put and relax, there are few quieter spots to be.

Hobby Farm is an adults-only campsite, which is undoubtedly the main reason that there’s such a notable sense of calm. But the general setting plays an obvious role too. The camping meadow is bound by mature trees and hedgerows, for example, and centres around a large pond, beside which alders and willows grow. There are just nine pitches in total, ensuring there’s never a crowd, and no electrical hook-ups, so old-fashioned tent campers reign supreme. A pair of traditional shepherd’s huts have been kitted out for glampers, too, and parked up in their own space – a handy option for walkers who don’t want to carry a tent.

If you’re open to ideas, amiable hosts Tom and Gaby are happy to recommend local pubs or walking routes. They also run the stables a few yards up the lane from the campsite and are happy to offer livery to campers who want to bring their horses along too. If you’ve got the time you can walk all the way to the beach – the nearest being at Seatown, where the Anchor Inn makes and excellent viewpoint-cum-watering-hole – or hop in the car and drive. It’s 15 minutes to Bridport, 15 minutes to Charmouth, 20 to West Bay and 20 to Lyme Regis, each one being worth several hours of your time. Though be careful not to eat into your camping time too much – it’s tough to put a limit on chilling around the campfire, fishing in the pond or paddling around in the small white row boat that waits invitingly on the waters’ edge.