Where SW, train station, 30 mins beach, circa 2.5 hrs London, retirement?

[Mum5net]

Doing a recce next month for retirement in 2026. Ideally not as far as Exeter and not sure we have funds for Bristol.
Have eight days to just go driving and check out places - rather than actually visit houses and stalk Right Move. T
Looking for 3 beds, 2 bath semi or detached house for £700k with garden and garage. No flats as we have a dog and don't want to pay a service charge.
Want to be able to home exchange with others abroad for at least twice a year, so ideally near an airport (30 mins) and somewhere people abroad would want to visit.
Have previously eliminated Winchester & Chichester on our last explorations. Winchester was too spread out and a bit ££, and really wanted to love Chichester but didn't love the housing stock or get the vibe.
Interests are beach walks, woodland walks, pub lunches, DIY, garden etc need links to London for DC x 2, also have relatives on the LNER route to Edinburgh. Needs to be a town as have to give up driving in next decade. Public transport quite high up the agenda as don't want to rely on others.
Currently am a 10 min walk to a station and 10 min walk to Sainsburys, 10 min walk to fabulous park but poor northern weather and 5 hrs from London prompts move.
Hit me with your best suggestions, please.
I have an A3 laminated print out of the routes for SW trains, but no idea which stations are the gems.

I was about to say Dorchester. I initially said Sherborne (I live nearby but clearly don’t pay attention to journey times to the beach - feels like 30 minutes).

You can get from Yeovil to Weymouth on the train but if it wasn’t for work, we’d move nearer Dorchester.

Dorchester/Poundbury has the advantage of a short train ride right to the beach at Weymouth. We considered it but it's just a stretch too far for quick access to London/Surrey.

Agree that it would be worth checking out Cardiff. The Glamorgan Heritage Coast is lovely, and you'd have easy access to the Gower and Pembrokeshire - heaven!

Another one coming on to say Dorchester and Poundbury. A thriving community, two stations ( Dorch South is the main line into Waterloo), plus airports at both Bournemouth and Southampton, the latter is very convenient by train only 1 hour. Beautiful coastline within 30mins and the old harbour at Weymouth is lovely (sadly other parts of Weymouth are very down at heel).
We moved to Poundbury two years ago and the move has been so successful, it’s far exceeded our expectations. We can walk to practically everything we need and hardly ever have to get in the car!

I’m surprised at so many people saying Weymouth as, on a recent visit, I found it quite grim. Left early.

I did specifically say the old harbour is lovely but that other parts are down at heel!?

My brother lives in Bournemouth and I think it meets all your criteria. Transport links are especially good.

Most towns have a down-at-heel area, but if I was looking at Weymouth then I'd love one of the homes overlooking the RSPB reserve and onto the sea.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151717025#/?channel=RES_BUY

Cardiff is a good shout, gives you the coast and the countryside close by plus the benefits of a not-too-big city and I've always found it a welcoming place. I love Dorset but it's not the best county for transport unless you're in the big towns, not sure it'd be great day to day without a car or for tantalising home-swapping.

I'd agree with looking at Worthing. Four stations with trains to London every 30-60 minutes going into Victoria, or it's an easy change onto the Thameslink to get right into central or over to North London. You should be able to get a decent semi for that budget. There's enough going on but also really easy to get to other towns along the south coast. West Worthing/Goring are the traditionally smarter areas with lots of nice semis and bungalows, East Worthing is oopular now too with more Victorian terraces and better value for money, both easy access to the train and beach. Ferring is quaint but fairly quiet and you'd have to get a bus to Goring for the train. Findon is also nice if you wanted to be able to walk into the Downs easily but again you'd need to catch a bus to the train.
Worthing is an easy day trip for your DC and their families to come down to the seaside. It's traditionally received a bit of bad press but it's hugely improved in the last few years with a lot of people moving over from Brighton/down from London, bringing money - loads of great restaurants, independent shops, and it's much calmer than Brighton. It's sandwiched between the South Downs and the sea so you're never far from either. I think if you want to be easily accessible to DC in London, you really want to be an easy, quick and direct train ride away otherwise it's not really doable (and gets expensive.)

Surprised to hear people suggesting Bournemouth. The nice bits (Southborne etc) are all miles from the main station and would require a car. You don’t want to live anywhere near the centre these days - it’s very run down (sadly) and lots of casual crime.

Surprised you discounted Chichester area, lots of pretty villages, South Downs, beaches, 1 hr 40 minutes to London by train, easy access to LGW and LHW, good services (hospital, public transport etc).

You can do really well renting out your property during Goodwood events.

Another vote for Brockenhurst.

Gorgeous walks in the open forest and you're near enough to Bournemouth etc that you can pop to the beach for the day very easily. Direct trains to London (a bit under 2 hours) and to Southampton Airport in less than 30 mins.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157617494#/?channel=RES_BUY

All good points on Worthing too and feels like a promising option although I wouldn't call it SW, dunno how wedded to that the OP is.

So many things to reply to, thank you. I'm reading and considering every suggestion because as @DaphneduM has just said, a random comment might lead us where we end up. It might take me a while to reply.
I did not know that Wales was as well connected with high speed trains. I am going to check out times and frequency and price. This includes Bristol. I wasn't aware trains might be as quick. I'm grateful to the poster who suggested areas adjacent to Bristol which are more affordable, but still have transport connections
I know the Exeter area reasonably well as we have family there.
My heart is suggesting Poole / Bournemouth is as far west as I want to be.
To the lovely poster who said they live there, I might need to ask more questions.

But I'm also seeing that my search should be maybe a 40 min taxi to Southampton, Bournemouth, Bristol or Exeter airports. And I really think that public transport network is vital.
Do people's DC easily come for a weekend if the trip is > than 3 hrs each way? Maybe it is the South and not the South West. But I don't think my budget stretches to 2 hrs to London.

Agree with this - you're much better off either side of Bournemouth on that line. Wareham/Weymouth direction or back up into Christchurch/the New Forest all much nicer than Bournemouth itself.

Bournemouth Airport isn't great either - lots of holiday charters. Southampton a bit more varied hence why I'd suggest going back towards the New Forest!

Thank you @Treepot
I think if you want to be easily accessible to DC in London, you really want to be an easy, quick and direct train ride away otherwise it's not really doable (and gets expensive.)
You have articulated succinctly what's in my head.

Bristol does have dodgy areas same as any other city but it also has some very lovely areas indeed, especially North west of the river. Houses in these areas will cost around a million, though. Redland and Clifton Down have local train stations which go to Temple Meads (from where you can go to London and anywhere else) and, I believe, to Weston-super-Mare (which is a dump) and Severn Beach, which isn't really.

Public transport in general is rubbish though. Unless you live near to the bus station or drive you won't be able to get to the beaches such as Clevedon, which is small but lovely or Portishead which is very popular with families, or Burnham-on-Sea. You certainly won't get there in half an hour.

Cardiff is 2 hours and Newport is 1h40 to London on the train. Nice beaches can be accessed within about 30 mins from many towns and villages in the surrounding area, Penarth and Cowbridge probably being most desirable, but less for your money than North of Cardiff.

Just seen that Burnham does have a station.

@Mum5net If you do look at Worthing, consider Heene. It's got loads of beautiful houses but tends to be less popular because the catchment school isn't great, so lots of families discount it. Close to the centre and still walkable to West Worthing station.

Sidmouth hasn't been on a branch line since 1967.

I quite liked Ringwood. Is 30 mins to the beach (Bournemouth to Milford giving a choice of beaches) , you could get a walkable to town centre/station 3-4 bed detached, trains are under 2 hours to London, gateway to New Forest for lovely dog walking, good variety of shops, some nice garden centres around the area too.

I used to regularly go to Dorchester from London. Lots of people do it as a commute. Maybe not daily but a couple of times a week. It’s 2.5h on the train from Waterloo. I also used to live in Branksome in Poole. On the train to London. A community feel and 20mins cycle from the beach.

I was going to suggest Dorchester (I see that it has a couple of mentions already). It has the advantage of trains both to Bournemouth-Southampton-London as well as Bath-Bristol so is well connected. Trains or buses to Weymouth are frequent and quick. Pretty town centre, and a good community feel.