Dorset

Beaminster Town Centre - Photo: Richard Slessor CCL

This small, thriving market town has more than 200 listed buildings and lies at the head of the undisturbed Vale of the River Brit amidst picturesque hills. It was once famous for the manufacture of cloth, rope and twine. Nearby is Hackthorn Hill and the beautiful Toller Down.

The 19th Century writer Thomas Hardy and poet William Barnes found inspiration here among the Tudor and Georgian buildings and quaint streets. Hardy transformed it into the fictional town ‘Emminster’ in his tragic tale ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’.

Nearby are the country houses of Mapperton, Melpash and Parnham. The town was the birthplace of Thomas Hine who emigrated to France in the late 18th Century and gave his name to Hine’s cognac based in Jarnac.

Admirers of the great Victorian novelist Thomas Hardy – a true man of Dorset – should not omit this pretty village on their tour of the county. Hardy called it ‘Kingsbere’.

The lovely Saxon parish church became the last resting place of his tragic heroine ‘Tess’ (of the D’Urbervilles) after he based his famous book around a local family, the Turbervilles.

The church was lovingly rebuilt by Henry Vll’s Chancellor, Cardinal Morton, and has some remarkable features. Close to the village are the remains of an Iron Age fort.

Bere Regis Countyside view taken from Woodbury Hill Fort - Photo: Jim Champion CCL

Dating back to Anglo Saxon times, like so many villages in these parts, this market town lies on the banks of the River Stour and was the fictional ‘Shottsford Forum’ in the novels of Thomas Hardy.

Bridge over the Stour - Photo: Nigel Freeman CCL

Church of St Peter and St Paul - Photo: Chris Hayles CCL

Virtually wiped out by a fire in the early 18th Century, it was later rebuilt. It is unique for having uniform Georgian buildings, including the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, and a market place.






It is home to the ‘Badger’ real ales and the Royal Signals Museum and each year hosts a Great Dorset Steam Day.





The Independent Bryanston School is nearby, founded in 1928, while south is a six-arched stone bridge over the Stour.

Bridport High Street - Photo: Steve Chapple CCL

Quintessentially English, Bridport and its surroundings were used as settings for the TV series ‘River Cottage’ whilst nearby is a small fishing harbour, location of the BBC drama ‘Harbour Lights’.



The ancient town centre – two miles from the coast - lies on the River Brit and is still a centre for rope, nets and ale making. Thomas Hardy re-named it ‘Port Bredy’ in his novels.

Although Charles II came here in search of a boat to carry him to France - and safety - following his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, this pretty seaside resort lying at the mouth of the River Char, close to popular Lyme Regis, is best known as a place to seek prehistoric bones thanks to its fossil-laden cliffs. The craze took off after the remains of an ichthyosaurus were unearthed nearby on the so-called Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. The fossils can be found in the gravel and sand at the bottom of the sea-lashed cliffs.

View East along Charmouth Beach - Photo: Steve Chapple CCL

Christchurch Sailing Club with The Priory in the background - Photo: Mark Pilbeam CCL

Lying on the coast between the rivers Stour and Avon, this picturesque town has the world’s biggest maze, covering 16 acres, and the longest parish church in England at nearly 300 feet. The church, 11th Century Christchurch Priory, also has England’s oldest bell, dating from 1370. Meanwhile a house near the village’s bowling green has the country’s oldest Norman chimney dating to the 12th Century!

As far back as the 9th Century the local harbour was an important cog in Alfred the Great’s defences against the Danes, but all that remains of the 11th Century castle is its keep. The full story of the area is told at the Redhouse Museum, art gallery and gardens. The building was once a workhouse where children made fine chains for the clock-making industry.

This quaint and quirky village in the Isle of Purbeck is dominated by the evocative ruins of a huge medieval castle which is one of Dorset’s major tourist attractions. Originally made of wood, it witnessed the murder of the teenaged Saxon King Edward the Martyr in 978AD by his stepmother, Queen Aelfthryth.

It was rebuilt in Purbeck stone in the 11th Century and improved by both King John and Henry III but, during the Civil War, it was blown up by Cromwell’s roundheads. A model village has been created using the same local stone to show how the castle looked in its heyday. 

Writer Enid Blyton turned the castle into a fictional fortress in her 1942 children’s book ‘Five on Treasure Island’ (1942). The village itself is separated from the castle by a large moat.

Corfe Castle - Photo: Richard Johns CCL

Dorchester Town Pump and Corn Exchange - Photo: Nigel Freeman CCL
 

Dorset’s county town lies on the River Frome and was known as Durnovaria in Roman times. It has a fascinatingly murky past. It was already a royal borough when a castle was built here in the 12th Century, followed by an important priory.



The infamous Judge Jeffrey's held some of his Bloody Assizes in the Antelope Hotel in the 17th Century while the unfortunate Tolpuddle Marchers were sent to Australia from the town’s Old Crown Court. T

he 19th Century author Thomas Hardy lived nearby for many years and called the town ‘Casterbridge’ in his masterwork ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge' (1886).


The ancient earthwork of Maiden Castle lies close by. South of the town is the Maumbury Ring, a Stone Age site transformed by the Romans into an amphitheatre.

Much later it became the site of public executions. In the town is an excavated Roman house while the local museum has a number of Roman finds on display.

Dorset County Museum - Photo: Nigel Freeman CCL

View east from Church Yard in Evershot - Photo: Stephen McKay CCL

At 700 feet above sea level, Evershot is one of the highest villages in Dorset and provides the source of the River Frome. Lying to east on the ancient Wessex Ridgeway, it was called ‘Evershead’ in Thomas Hardy’s novel ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ and besides the local church is ‘Tess’s Cottage’. The poet George Crabbe was a rector here in the late 18th Century. Nearby stands Melbury House.

One of the largest of Dorset’s towns, Ferndown is set amidst woodland and picturesque scenery, close to both the bustle of Bournemouth and the tranquil timelessness of the New Forest. Its possesses a common jointly managed by English Nature and the Herpetological Society to protect its increasingly rare wild creatures such as the Dartford Warbler, smooth snake and sand lizard. The town’s commercial success goes back to the days when two Scotsmen, William and David Stewart, arrived to start a market garden. Business boomed and sowed the seeds for the whole population to prosper.

Ferndown Heathland Pond - Photo: John Smitten CCL

Chesil Beach - Photo: Val Vannet CCL

This pretty Dorset village – one of the largest in the so-called Isle of Purbeck – owes its good fortunes to a well discovered here in the early 17th Century. The village lies on the coast where the remarkable, 18-mile long, 200 metre wide Chesil Beach connects with the mainland.


This unusual ‘tombolo’ shingle beach is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A local visitor centre explains how it came about whilst offering an unforgettable trip on a glass-bottomed boat.

Lying on the River Stour in the Blackmore Vale, this is one of Dorset’s busiest and most northerly towns whose origins date back to the days of the conquering Saxons. It became a key centre for cloth making and silk spinning in the 18th Century and prospered again with the arrival of the railways. The landscape painter Turner immortalised its old river bridge while Constable was also inspired when he came here. The town has a number of Tudor buildings and a 16th Century grammar school. Nearby is Dorset Rare Breeds Centre and Farm Museum - which has a large collection of endangered farm animals - and a Stone Age barrow. The parish church has a 14^th century chancel.

St. Mary the Virgin Church - Photo: John Barrett CCL

Highcliffe Castle - Photo: David Rogers CCL

Originally known as Slop Pond, this is the most easterly parish in Dorset and offers all the amenities of a traditional seaside resort as well as superb views across to the Isle of Wight. It has a curious, Gothic-style castle built in the 1830's and a restored hall with a pleasing garden open to the public.


The area first became a tourist hotspot in the 19th Century when the name of the village was changed to Newtown, then re-named as Highcliff and more recently to Highcliffe-on-Sea.

This is a seaside resort with a difference because while its shallow water is ideal for paddling and rock pooling the coastal village has slowly become an important hotspot for divers, snorkellers and underwater cameramen. Lying in the Isle of Purbeck, it is set amidst cliffs made of sedimentary rock and enjoys an exceptionally long low tide. The local rocks are peppered with fossils, though many visitors are far more interested in what lives beneath the waves.

Kimmeridge - Photo: Alan Rolfe CCL

Lyme Regis Beach - Photo: Paul Allison CCL

Known as the ‘necklace of Dorset’, Lyme Regis and its sublime cliff-faces form part of the magnificent Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.

The area has been one of Britain’s premier sites for fossils since the early part of the 19th Century thanks to its fragile limestone.





The place was an important port back in the 13th century but today almost half its population is retired. In 1685 the Duke of Monmouth landed here after launching his unfortunate insurrection against James II.

Lyme Regis Harbour - Photo: Paul Allison CCL

Marnhull Church - Photo: Nigel Freeman CCL

One of Dorset’s most popular tourist haunts, picturesque Marnhull, near Gillingham, looks out across the bucolic expanse of Blackmoor Vale and clearly has ancient origins, owing its unusual name to the Saxons.

Readers of tragic fiction know it far better as Marlott, the name given to it by the writer Thomas Hardy when he needed to fashion a home for his heroine ‘Tess’ in ‘Tess of the D'Urbervilles’. Nearby is The Manor House, residence of Henry VIII’s wife Katherine Parr.

With a rich maritime history, the busy resort town of Poole stands on the northern shore of Britain’s largest natural harbour and one of its biggest shallow water anchorages. Poole Harbour was, in fact, a key embarkation point for allied troops on D-Day.


As a port, the town enjoyed great prosperity in the Middle Ages and today offers cross-Channel sailings to France and the Channel Islands. It is also a popular destination for thousands of sailors, windsurfers, and even oil prospectors.

Poole Harbour, Sunset over Main Channel - Photo: Peter Jordan CCL

Branksea Castle on Brownsea Island - Photo: William Kemp CCL

Tower Park is one of the largest leisure complexes in the country, but Poole has many other attractions. Brownsea Island is worth a visit to see the rare red squirrel while a local waterfront museum explains the history of the area.

Portland is unmistakably historic and lies on a peninsula joined to the mainland by a narrow strip of the 18-mile Chesil Beach.

At its tip is the famous 495ft high Portland Bill.

It has long been an important naval base and here you will find no less than three castles, three lighthouses, many fine old churches, evocative cottages and just a few shipwrecks!

Oh, let’s not forget the great Verne Citadel (a one-time barracks for 700 men) and old gun batteries.

Portland Bill Lighthouse -
Photo: Pete Chapman CCL

Lyme Bay -
Photo: Bob Ford/Nature Portfolio CCL

Parts of this ‘island’ have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest while Chesil’s unique shingle beach and the Fleet Lagoon are home to a unique flora and fauna.

Portland is also home to many quarries which have yielded millions of tons of unique Portland stone – the building blocks of St Paul’s Cathedral.

The area’s most famous castle was built by Henry VIII and looks down imperiously on the biggest artificial harbour in Britain - it was constructed in the 19th century by convicts.

This strangely-named village lies on the equally curious River Piddle and was transformed into ‘Weatherbury’ by Thomas Hardy when he penned his pastoral masterpiece ‘Far from the Madding Crowds’ in the mid-19th Century.


Dawnay House, which stands proudly in the village centre, was the work of the local vicar, Henry Dawnay, in the late 18th Century and today employs guides dressed in period costume to discuss its fine décor and ornaments.

A Quiet street in Puddletown - Photo: Richard Slessor CCL

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury - Photo: Tony and Maureen Kemp CCL
 

No visit to Dorset would be complete without a peek at this idyllic, ancient town which sits like a rough-cut crown atop a 700ft hill known as Cranborne Chase. You reach the seductive summit by climbing steep, cobbled streets - it’s the same summit used by Hovis in their famous TV ad showing a cloth-capped boy pushing a bicycle up Gold Hill laden with loaves.


The town grew up around a 9th Century Saxon abbey which today offers a museum, pleasant gardens, a fantastic view – and the chance to catch your breath.

King Canute died in Shaftesbury in 1035 while the Saxon king Edward the Martyr is buried in the hilltop abbey.

A Shaftesbury Country Garden - Photo: Katy Appleton CCL

Lying on the Dorset-Somerset border, Sherborne once occupied a strategic location and was the Saxon capital of Wessex. It still has reminders of its importance in the shape of an abbey and two castles. The novelist Thomas Hardy re-named it ‘Sherton Abbas’ in his book ‘Woodlanders’.

Sherborne Castle and Lake - Photo: John Allan CCL

Sherborne Abbey dates back to the 8th century and was used as a cathedral. It had to be rebuilt in the 15th century and contains the remains of two of Alfred the Great’s brothers as well as Thomas Wyatt, the 16th century poet. Sherborne School has occupied part of the abbey since 1550.

A local 12th century castle was offered to Sir Walter Raleigh as a gift by Elizabeth I. Although he graciously accepted this prize he quickly built a more comfortable version of it - an Elizabethan manor house now known as Sherborne Castle.

The ruins of an historic palace, now owned by English Heritage, lie close by. It was built by the Bishop of Salisbury, Chancellor of England, but was destroyed in 1645 during the Civil War.

This seaside resort on the east coast of the Isle of Purbeck is regarded as the gateway to Dorset’s marvellous Jurassic Coast and attracts thousands of visitors each year. Formerly an important trading centre for Purbeck marble, it has a restored pier, a sandy bay and limestone cliffs offering unrivalled opportunities for both climbers and fossil hunters.

View across Swanage Bay - Photo: Richard Webb CCL

The Swanage Railway at Corfe Village - Photo: Crispin Purdye CCL

A one-time Anglo Saxon port of some importance, it was the place where Alfred the Great famously thwarted a Viking Danish fleet in 877.

The Wellington clock tower, erected on the shore, stood at the southern end of London Bridge until the mid 19^th century when it was brought to Swanage by builders John Mowlem and his nephew George Burt. They also brought with them the façade from a London guild house, Mercers’ Hall, which adorns the local town hall.

The Swanage Railway is run by dedicated enthusiasts and links Swanage with Corfe Castle, operating both steam and diesel locos.

The Portland Stone Globe - Photo: Ben Gamble CCL

Looking East along the River Frome - Photo: Richard Johns CCL

The oldest streets of this ancient settlement follow a Roman pattern of quarterly divisions, but this town really dates back to Saxon times. Not only was it a royal Saxon burial spot but its walls, which still exist in places, were earthen ramparts built by Alfred the Great to thwart Viking invaders. For centuries it was a port until the River Frome silted up in the Middle Ages.

The town had to be rebuilt following a fire in the mid-18^th century and on the outskirts is the spot where TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) was killed in a tragic motorcyle accident. He lived at nearby Clouds Hill. In the Saxon Church of St Martin is a sculpture of Lawrence, while the Church of Lady St Mary contains a stone coffin said to be that of King Edward the Martyr.

South Bridge in Wareham - Photo: Richard Johns CCL

Weymouth Bay - Photo: Chris Collard CCL
 

It owes its modern popularity to George III who, in 1789, created a sensational craze by becoming the first reigning monarch to bathe in a new-fangled bathing machine. The rest of Britain quickly followed his example.

Curiously it may have been from Weymouth that the Black Death spread, though the West Country author Thomas Hardy saw it in more innocent terms, calling it ‘Budmouth’ in his novel ‘The Trumpet Major’.

Weymouth Town Bridge - Photo: John Goodall CCL

The Minster in Wimborne Minster - Photo: Ron Strutt CCL

Dorset writer Thomas Hardy lived here for two years and changed its name to ‘Warborne’ for his 1882 book ‘Two on a Tower’.

Although this charming Dorset village features strongly in Thomas Hardy’s sweeping novel ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’, it is probably better known for its evocative 16th Century bridge over the River Frome. Hardy called this town ‘Wellbridge’ and based his tragic tale around a legend involving the Turberville family who lived at Jacobean Woolbridge Manor – now a hotel.

His heroine, ‘Tess Durbeyfield’, spent her fictional honeymoon in the manor with her husband-to-be, Angel Clare. Nearby stand the ruins of 12th Century Bindon Abbey.

Wool Bridge - Photo: Chris Shaw CCL