Bookmark this page:    TouristNetUK Blog
Search Tourist Net UK  
To Tourist Net UK Home Page

Dorset

Towns & Villages

Dorset

TOWNS & VILLAGES

 

Ansty A3 

  Beaminster B1
  Bere Regis C3
  Blandford Forum B3
  Bournemouth C4
  Bridport C1
 

Charmouth C1

  Christchurch C4
  Corfe Castle C3
  Dorchester C2
  Evershot B2
 

Ferndown B4

  Fortuneswell D2
  Gillingham A3
Highcliffe-on-Sea C4
  Kimmeridge C3
 

Lyme Regis C1

  Marnhull A2
  Poole C3
  Portland D2
  Puddletown C2
 

Shaftesbury A3

  Sherborne A2
  Swanage C4
  Wareham C3
  Weymouth C2
 

Wimborne Minster B3

  Wool C3

Home

/

Regions

/

South

/

Dorset

/

Towns & Villages

/

Shaftesbury

Shaftesbury

You may view the information for ALL the towns and villages in Dorset (the page may be very large) or You can view your preferred location from the list on the left.





 

Exeter and East Devon South Somerset and Surrounding area New Forest Ansty Tourist Information Beaminster Tourist Information Bere Regis Tourist Information Blandford Forum Tourist Information Bridport Tourist Information Charmouth Tourist Information Christchurch Tourist Information Corfe Castle Tourist Information Dorchester Tourist Information Evershot Tourist Information Ferndown Tourist Information Fortuneswell Tourist Information Gillingham Tourist Information Kimmeridge Tourist Information Lyme Regis Tourist Information Marnhull Tourist Information Poole Tourist Information Portland Tourist Information Puddletown Tourist Information Shaftesbury Tourist Information Sherborne Tourist Information Swanage Tourist Information Wareham Tourist Information Weymouth Tourist Information Wimborne Minster Tourist Information Wool Tourist Information Highcliffe-on-Sea Tourist Information

 

SHAFTESBURY

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury - Photo © Tony and Maureen Kemp
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.

Novelist Thomas Hardy named this place ‘Shaston’ in his famous book ‘Jude the Obscure’ and on a clear day visitors might even catch a glimpse of Glastonbury Tor.

Wardour Castle is a grand Georgian edifice built in the 1770s by James Paine for the 8th Lord Arundell. It has a 60ft high staircase. An earlier castle was destroyed when the 3rd Lord Arundell blew it up after it had been captured by Parliamentary troops in 1643.

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
A Shaftesbury Country Garden - Photo: Katy Appleton CCL


[back to top]

Further information:
Shaftesbury Hotels, Guesthouses and B&B Accommodation

Tourist Net UK Ltd, Hanover House,  87 Hassell Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 1AX