A weekend in Bournemouth with older parents

This is a weekend built around short hops rather than long days. Day one begins at Avon Tyrrell House, a stately home, then it's just 4.6 miles to lunch at The Sandpiper, a pub with a 5/5 food hygiene rating, and a further 3.3 miles to the Friends of the New Forest Airfields museum. Day two has one longer drive of 19.9 miles to Mompesson House, a National Trust property. After that, The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum is under a quarter of a mile away on foot, so the car can stay put for the afternoon.

For a base, Sea Whispers Cottage in Bournemouth sleeps four. It is 0.5 miles from Branksome station and 1.3 miles from Poole Branksome Chine beach, whose bathing water the Environment Agency rates Excellent. Travelling as a bigger family? The Dairy near Wimborne sleeps six. If you're arriving by train, Bournemouth is the nearest station.