Abbotsbury sub-tropical park

Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens sit just behind the Chesil Beach shoreline in the village of Abbotsbury, on Dorset's Jurassic Coast. Originally laid out in 1765 as a kitchen garden for the nearby Abbotsbury Castle, the grounds were gradually transformed into an ornamental pleasure ground by successive generations of the Strangways family, Earls of Ilchester. The garden's sheltered, south-facing position and its unusually mild micro-climate allow plants from the Mediterranean, the Himalayas, New Zealand, South America and South Africa to thrive outdoors in a way that would be impossible across most of Britain.

Visitors wander twenty acres of winding paths through magnolia and camellia groves, towering tree ferns, palms, bamboos and a notable collection of mature rhododendrons. Highlights include the Victorian walled garden, a colonial-style teahouse, a children's woodland play trail and a viewpoint with views across the Fleet Lagoon to Chesil Beach. The garden holds Grade I listing on the Historic England Register of Parks and Gardens, reflecting both its plant collection and its landscape design.

Abbotsbury village itself is worth lingering in, with its honey-stoned cottages, ruined Benedictine abbey and famous Swannery a short walk away. Together they make a full day out on this stretch of the World Heritage coast.