Golden Cap

Golden Cap is the highest point on the south coast of England at 191 metres, its summit of rusty-gold sandstone a landmark on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, with a view across Lyme Bay to Dartmoor on a clear day. The National Trust estate around it takes in hay meadows with green-winged orchids in spring, Langdon Hill's woodland of Scots pine and larch, and Thorncombe Beacon to the east, one of the old chain of invasion beacons. Two Trust car parks serve it: Langdon Hill, where the climb to the summit is signposted and an easy 1.4-mile woodland circuit suits pushchairs and most wheelchairs, and Stonebarrow Hill, the start of about 25 miles of footpaths, with a coffee trailer, toilets and a children's Smugglers' Trail at the Old Radar Station. Dogs are welcome on a short lead near the grazing cattle and sheep, and not on the beaches in summer. Reviewers say the pull up from Langdon Hill takes about 25 minutes and the summit views repay it. One tip from regular visitors: the coast path runs close to the edge in places and the cliffs are liable to landslips, so keep well back.