Studland is a seaside village tucked away on a Dorset peninsular, called the Isle of Purbeck. Recently named one of the UK’s most desirable villages, Studland boasts some of the most impressive sights in the south, and it’s not just the nudist beach.
Property experts from across the country spoke to the Mail and named it among Britain's 30 most desirable villages to move to and with long white beaches along the Jurassic coast, a distinctive chalk formation called Old Harry’s Rocks, and a stone's throw away from Millionaire Row in Sandbanks, it’s no wonder the properties, of which there are only 170, have an average price of £1.9m, according to Rightmove. If you’re looking for a semi-detached house, the price is nearly double.
Sandbanks is renowned for being an A-lister hotspot, but despite Studland being a ferry away, amongst the peaceful streets of Purbeck, this sleepy village is no stranger to a celebrity. Sir Frederick Treves wrote about Studland in his book Highways and Byways in Dorset, and refers to the village as one of the few relics of old Swanage. Today, Studland’s luxury coastal hotel The Pig on the Beach has been home to Jules Knight, Joe McFadden, and Honey Kinney Ross, who have also sung the village's praises.
If these holiday-makers were looking for some privacy, they were in the right spot. With a population of 366 in the whole of Studland, and nearly a third of them being over 65, the undisturbed village could be the perfect location to relax out of site.
As for hiding places, the four miles of dunes across Studland's coast, starting at Knoll beach, offer sheltered picnic space, woodland trails, and is a habitat home to thousands of different species. The Purbeck dunes are a known hotspot for rare butterflies.
The beach is considered safe for swimming and the chain ferry moving from the Sandbanks spit to Knoll beach costs only £1 per person, offering spectacular views of the castle on Brownsea Island. Only last year a dinosaur footprint was discovered near the castle, which experts estimate to be 140 million years old.
If you are a fan of sightseeing and are keen for a view to remember, the 900m long naturist stretch of Studland beach is sheltered by the dunes to the left of the ferry port and seafood restaurant Shell Bay. While nudity is optional, the rules laid out by the National Trust are not.
No taking pictures without consent from naturists, and you’ll have to save your ogling for the mansions in Sandbanks. For those taking advantage of optional clothing, there are also some restrictions. You must avoid approaching clothed beachgoers, respect other naturists' space, and no sexual activity - even if you are concerned about Studland's small population.
So if you’re following every Londoner's dream to escape the big smoke and end up by the seaside, and your pockets are deep enough to get you there, Studland is only a three-hour drive from London. Whether you’re racing back for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour or in need of a speedy escape during the election, for one of the best beaches in the UK, it’s not too far away.
Little known feature in Only Fools and Horses
Rare photos from an Only Fools and Horses BBC archive revealed the little known use of locations in the classic show. Restored and retouched negatives show David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, who play iconic brothers Derek (Del Boy) and Rodney Trotter, on Studland beach but you wouldn't know it from watching the show.
In one episode, the sitcom had to the mimic the sunny scenes of Spain, so the filming crew chose none other than Dorset as its destination. In the 1982 episode, It Never Rains, the Trotter brothers go on a rare holiday to Benidorm with Grandad, played by Lennard Pearce. But rather than travelling to Spain to catch the brothers soaking in the rays, the beach scenes were actually filmed at Studland beach.
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