KIMMERIDGE has been named one of the 20 most beautiful seaside villages in the UK.

The Daily Telegraph said the Dorset village was an idyllic spot by the sea.

It said: "There’s just something about the British seaside – we do really love to be beside it. Even in an era of cheap and easy flights to hot and sandy places, the idea of hanging out on the UK coast still manages to exert a strong pull. Specifically, in its little villages. Spots that don’t have outskirts uglified by trading estates; that do have streets – variously wonky, steep and maze-like – that allow us to pretend it’s a previous, less-fraught century.

"Maybe it’s in our bones, as an island nation, to be drawn to the sea. Maybe it’s just hypocritical nostalgia: we want those cute old cottages to be lived in by actual fishermen, though we also want them refurbed with tasteful nauticalia, so we can hire them to play out our own coast-living fantasies.

"Few of us can resist that dazzle of whitewash teetering on a cliff, that glint of flint beside a salt marsh, that harbour bobbing with boats and that soundtrack: sea gulls, shanties, waves on rocks, sand and shingle.

As for Kimmeridge it says: "Lulworth heaves in high season. So try nearby Kimmeridge instead.

"This pretty little cluster of thatch and Purbeck stone sits within folds of green, just inland from the coast.

"Here, you can feast on field-to-fork fare at Clavells restaurant and view the Etches Collection, a mind-boggling display of Jurassic marine life.

"A footpath lined with panels about the area’s ancient aquatics leads to the bay itself, one of the UK’s most important geological sites. It offers safe swimming, world-class rock-pooling and, in summer, warden-led events

Highlights include snorkelling the underwater nature trail and enjoying the stunning views from the nearby Clavell Tower on Hen Cliff.