THE JURRASIC PUB RUN

FOUR NIGHTS. FOUR PUBS. 185 MILLION YEARS. // THE JURASSIC PUB RUN

Vanilla. Exmouth to Old Harry Rocks. Four nights on the road, no conventional campsite-hopping, and a proper pub waiting at the end of every day. This might be one of the most British road trips I’ve ever planned. 🚐🍺🌊

There are road trips where the overnight stop is simply somewhere to sleep. Then there are road trips where the overnight stop becomes part of the story.

This one is definitely the latter.

I’ve been looking at the Jurassic Coast again, but instead of building the usual campervan itinerary around campsites, electric hook-ups, reception desks and numbered pitches, I’ve decided to strip the whole thing back. Four nights. Four pubs. Vanilla carrying everything I need.

The idea is beautifully simple. Start at Exmouth, point Vanilla east and spend five days following one of the most extraordinary coastlines in Britain until I eventually reach Studland and Old Harry Rocks. The official World Heritage coastline runs for around 95 miles between Exmouth and Old Harry Rocks, exposing roughly 185 million years of geological history along the way.

But this isn’t going to be a 95-mile dash.

Far from it.

There will be little roads, viewpoints, coastal walks, coffee stops, drone possibilities where regulations and conditions allow, photography, probably fish and chips somewhere inappropriate, and four evenings where the day ends not at a campsite barrier but beside a Dorset pub.

This is the Jurassic Pub Run. 🍺🦖

DAY ONE // EXMOUTH TO LYME REGIS

The adventure starts where the Jurassic Coast itself begins: Exmouth.

And rather than immediately charging eastwards, Day One is deliberately designed to meander. This part of Devon deserves more than being viewed through a windscreen at 50mph.

From Exmouth I’ll work my way through Budleigh Salterton, then onwards towards Sidmouth, Beer and Seaton.

This is the red end of the Jurassic Coast. Cliffs burnt orange by ancient geology, little seaside towns tucked into valleys and roads that repeatedly tease the sea before disappearing inland again.

Vanilla is almost perfectly built for this sort of journey. Compact enough to get into the smaller places, self-contained enough that I don’t have to think about facilities and, with the new off-grid setup, increasingly capable of just sitting somewhere quietly while the world carries on around it.

Eventually the road brings me to Lyme Regis.

The Cobb. The harbour. Fossil country. Proper Jurassic Coast territory.

I don’t want Lyme Regis to become another tick on a list, either. I’ll park Vanilla and actually walk it. Camera out. Ray-Bans on. Probably far too many photographs of the same stretch of coastline.

And when the light begins to disappear, it’s time for the first pub.

🍺 NIGHT ONE // THE HUNTERS LODGE INN

Just outside Lyme Regis and Charmouth is The Hunters Lodge Inn, a historic coaching inn near Axminster.

This one works particularly well because the pub itself confirms that it accepts a limited number of campervans overnight. Spaces need to be booked and overnight guests are expected to eat at the pub. Perfect. That’s exactly how a pub stop should work: I get somewhere legitimate to sleep and the pub gets a customer rather than somebody treating its car park as a free campsite.

Park Vanilla. Heater on if it’s cold. Fridge humming quietly. Phone on charge.

Then inside.

Food. Pint. Back to Vanilla.

Night one complete. 🍻

DAY TWO // FOSSILS, GOLDEN CAP & WEST BAY

Morning two begins almost immediately in some of the finest scenery of the trip.

First up is Charmouth, sitting right in the fossil-hunting heartland of the coast. From there I’ll continue towards Golden Cap, the great high point on this section of coastline, before gradually moving east into Dorset.

And then comes West Bay.

Those enormous golden cliffs rising almost vertically behind the beach are one of those sights that don’t really need embellishment. Vanilla parked somewhere nearby, camera in hand and a walk along the harbour sounds considerably better than racing through simply because the next destination exists.

This whole trip is being deliberately designed around relatively short driving days.

That’s important.

The Jurassic Coast isn’t something I want to experience as a sequence of sat-nav destinations. The road between the places is part of it. If something looks interesting, stop. If the weather suddenly becomes spectacular, stop. If I find a ridiculous little café selling an enormous piece of cake, that’s probably an emergency requiring immediate attention.

Eventually I’ll continue through Burton Bradstock towards Abbotsbury.

And waiting there is possibly my favourite pub-stop arrangement of the trip.

🍺 NIGHT TWO // THE SWAN INN, ABBOTSBURY

The Swan Inn is wonderfully straightforward about campervans.

Technically it doesn’t advertise itself as a formal campervan site. Instead, if you’re visiting for food or drinks, campervans and motorhomes are welcome to stay overnight as guests. Parking is first come, first served, and the pub specifically says it can’t reserve parking spaces. There’s also a paid village car park immediately behind it as a fallback if necessary.

That is almost the definition of the trip I’m trying to create.

Not camping.

Not pretending to be camping.

Just arriving at a traditional Dorset pub, spending money there, having dinner and sleeping in Vanilla afterwards.

And apparently the Swan does proper pub food too, which means there is every possibility that Day Two could end with cottage pie, sticky toffee pudding and the aerodynamic properties of a small bungalow.

Excellent.

DAY THREE // CHESIL, PORTLAND & THE BIG ONE

Day Three could be magnificent.

Leaving Abbotsbury puts me almost immediately into Chesil Beach country.

This strange, immense ribbon of shingle stretches away along the Dorset coast with the Fleet lagoon behind it. It’s one of those landscapes that looks impressive at ground level and completely bonkers from above.

Then Vanilla rolls onwards towards Weymouth.

I’ll give Weymouth some time rather than just passing through, but eventually the road continues across the causeway towards Portland.

Portland Bill.

Now we’re talking.

The lighthouse, the exposed coastline, the rocks, the weather rolling in from the Channel. If there’s one place on this trip where I’d love dramatic skies rather than blue-sky postcard weather, it’s Portland.

Give me angry clouds, shafts of sunlight and white water.

Photography weather.

NIX weather. 📸🌊

Then comes the clever bit. Portland doesn’t get an overnight stop.

Instead I’ll turn Vanilla north again, pass Weymouth and head towards the two names almost everybody associates with this coast.

Durdle Door.

Lulworth Cove.

Durdle Door’s natural limestone arch has become one of Britain’s most recognisable coastal landmarks, while nearby Lulworth Cove is another extraordinary piece of geology compressed into a tiny part of Dorset.

This is not getting the twenty-minute tourist treatment.

Park up. Boots on. Walk.

If Day Three takes longer than planned because I’m standing above Durdle Door watching the light change, good.

That’s exactly what the itinerary is supposed to allow.

▶ Play film

🍺 NIGHT THREE // THE RED LION, WINFRITH

The third night brings a slight variation on the theme.

The Red Lion at Winfrith Newburgh has its own small campsite attached to the pub, so it isn’t simply a car-park stopover. But crucially, it still keeps the entire idea intact: Vanilla beside a country pub, food and beer inside, bed a few metres away.

The Red Lion describes itself as a family-run pub close to Weymouth, Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove, with a campsite on site. The pub also makes clear that pitches need to be booked directly and that without a booking there is no confirmed pitch.

After a day containing Chesil, Weymouth, Portland, Durdle Door and Lulworth, I suspect nobody will need to rock me to sleep.

DAY FOUR // INTO PURBECK

By Day Four the geology changes again and so does the feel of the journey.

This is Purbeck.

First target: Kimmeridge Bay.

Kimmeridge sits within the Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve, and the rocks visible here were once the floor of a tropical sea. There’s also the distinctive Clavell Tower sitting above the coastline.

It’s exactly the sort of place where I can imagine Vanilla parked quietly while I disappear with the camera for an hour and return three hours later.

From Kimmeridge the road then starts weaving towards somewhere completely different.

Corfe Castle.

Suddenly this stops looking like a coastal road trip and turns into medieval England.

Castle ruins on the hill. Stone cottages below. Purbeck countryside surrounding everything.

Then I’ll continue towards Swanage, giving the trip one final traditional seaside-town fix before turning back inland slightly for the last pub night.

And this one could be a belter.

🍺 NIGHT FOUR // THE NEW INN, CHURCH KNOWLE

The New Inn at Church Knowle sits only around a mile and a half from Corfe Castle.

Current 2026 stopover information lists it as a motorhome pub stop, with level parking at £10 a night or free when eating in the pub, and recommends calling beforehand.

Which means the final evening of the Jurassic Pub Run should be gloriously uncomplicated.

Vanilla parked.

Four days of Dorset and Devon dust on the tyres.

Possibly hundreds of photographs.

Dinner inside an old village pub.

A pint raised to a road trip that has somehow managed to combine UNESCO geology, campervan life and beer without any of those three things feeling remotely out of place.

Then one final night in Vanilla.

But the journey still isn’t quite finished.

DAY FIVE // OLD HARRY

The final morning has one job.

Reach the end.

From Church Knowle I’ll head towards Studland Bay, leave Vanilla and walk out towards Old Harry Rocks.

These chalk stacks stand at the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. They’re around 66 million years old and the chalk was once connected across what is now the sea to the Needles on the Isle of Wight.

Which makes this the perfect finish.

Five days earlier Vanilla was sitting at Exmouth beside rocks from a completely different chapter of Earth’s history.

Now I’m standing above the sea at Purbeck.

Journey complete.

Not because I’ve driven huge mileage.

Not because I’ve collected campsites.

Not because I’ve hurried through twenty attractions.

Because I’ve followed the coast.

THE NIX WAY // SLOWER IS BETTER

What I really like about this plan is what isn’t included.

There are no long driving days.

No obsession with electrical hook-up.

No desperate arrival before campsite reception closes.

No spending half the holiday constructing an outdoor living room around the van only to dismantle it again the following morning.

Vanilla arrives essentially ready.

Park. Handbrake. Done.

The fridge stays running. Solar works during the day when conditions allow. The leisure battery carries the evening. The Webasto can deal with a cold night. Jackery power is there if I need it.

And the pub provides the other essential campervan energy source.

Pie. 🍽️

It turns the whole Jurassic Coast into a moving adventure rather than four separate camping holidays.

THE ROUTE

🟠 EXMOUTH Budleigh Salterton • Sidmouth • Beer • Seaton • Lyme Regis 🍺 Hunters Lodge

🟠 CHARMOUTH Golden Cap • West Bay • Burton Bradstock • Abbotsbury 🍺 Swan Inn

🟠 CHESIL BEACH Weymouth • Portland Bill • Durdle Door • Lulworth Cove 🍺 Red Lion

🟠 PURBECK Kimmeridge • Corfe Castle • Swanage 🍺 New Inn

🟠 THE FINISH Studland • Old Harry Rocks 🏁

It’s simple.

It’s old-school.

And it might be exactly what campervan travel should be.

Four nights. Four pubs. One van. One extraordinary coast.

No rushing.

No unnecessary luxury.

Just Vanilla, the road, the sea and somewhere serving a pint when the sun goes down.

THE JURASSIC PUB RUN // COMING SOON. 🚐🍺🦖🌊