Joe’s Cafe, a beach-hut style cafe oozing with home-made joys, is the first thing your eye catches after walking a short meandering path from Studland village and before setting your sight on the sea.

Nestled on South Beach, the lesser known of Studland’s beaches, this patch of the Jurassic Coast is quietly known as ‘the local’s beach.’ Joe’s Cafe, the only option here for replenishing yourself after walking the cobwebs away, is an iconic and much-loved beach feature to locals and holiday-makers alike.

It’s easy to see why. With an array of home-made treasures and locally curated delights on offer, including local ice-creams and jars of ‘Granny Parish’s’ jams, marmalades and chutneys, you can’t go too far wrong. Their famous brownies and flapjacks are seriously good too!

Joe’s Cafe care about their impact too; that means fair-trade, organic and local produce, as well no polystyrene cups in sight. In this chilly weather, I’ve loved taking a morning walk to nearby Old Harry Rock’s before potting down to South Beach, grabbing a flapjack and a cuppa (in a proper mug) and plonking down on a picnic bench before exploring the beach.

If you head left and to the end of the beach you will eventually reach a fallen WWII pill box which makes a great pirate look out for little adventurers. When the tide is low you can head right round to Middle Beach too, using the well-worn foot and hand holds to traverse the cliff line if the water is lapping dangerously close to your welly boots.

Back at Joe’s you’ll also find a crate of buckets and spades to make use of (free of charge) in case you’ve come without your sand-castle tools. I’d say that that’s a local gem that cares about you enjoying the beach as much as you enjoy their well-made treats.

 Images by Rachel Lees