I would love to say it was highbrow literature that made me excited to visit England's Dorset and East Devon Coast in May of 2018, but On Chesil Beach just wasn't that inspiring to me. Instead, it was the BBC's excellent television production of Broadchurch that brought me to West Bay, Dorset, next to the iconic cliffs of the Jurassic Coast which formed the backdrop for the murder mystery. After visiting the scene of the crime (as well as the fictional Wessex police department), I hiked up and down the beach admiring the towering sandstone bluff while listening to the waves crashing in, before ascending the hill and hiking east along the clifftops. It is easy to see why this has been labeled an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" in the UK. Back in West Bay, signs near the harbor explained the history and geology of the Jurassic Coast (also mentioning its World Heritage Site status). So as not to ignore other sections of the coast, the next day I made sure to stop by Chesil Beach, where I spent a morning trudging through the pebbles that form the shingle beach. I much preferred the Jurassic Coast by West Bay.

Logistics: To visit both West Bay and Chesil Beach, it is easiest to use private transporation; trails along the coast provide hiking opportunities as well.