Local Area

Regional Attractions

Dorset has an attractive and varied landscape and coastline and visitors can enjoy an abundance of beautiful countryside with pretty towns and villages.

Historical Dorchester is the heart of Thomas Hardy Country. Hardy's Cottage, his birthplace in the woods at Higher Bockhampton and Max Gate, the home he designed for himself in later life are both open to the public by the National Trust

Bridport is an attractive market town adjacent to the coastal resort, West Bay - location of  the TV drama, Broadchurch. Lyme Regis, famously depicted in the film version of John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman and Jane Austen's Persuasion, is often regarded as the Pearl of Dorset. Boasting breathtaking scenery with cobbled and steep streets it offers an excellent range of traditional, craft and fossil shops, tea rooms and restaurants. Lyme Regis Museum and Dinosaurland house spectacular collections of local fossils.

Family attractions locally include Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre near Wool with the Tank Museum only a mile away at Bovington and the village of Tolpuddle and the Martyrs Museum.  

Lawrence of Arabia's home is at Clouds Hill (NT) with an exhibition that includes his motor bike can be seen just down the road at Bovingtion Tank Museum. His grave is in the churchyard of St Nicholas Church at nearby at Moreton village where the magnificent clear glass windows engraved by Lawrence Whistler is also well worth a visit.      

To the north lie the towns of Blandford Forum - possibly the best remaining original example of a Georgian market town in England, Shaftesbury where the famous Gold Hill offers panoramic views across the Blackmore Vale. Sherborne is another market town to the north of Dorchester. Sited on the River Yeo and on the edge of the Blackmore Vale it boasts two Castles and magnificent Abbey.

Dorset's World Heritage Jurassic coastline provides a stunning backdrop for walkers and cyclists exploring the South West coastal path including Durdle Door, a massive rock arch and an absolutely beautiful sloping beach ideal for bathing. Neighbouring along the coast path is Lulworth Cove - ideal for snorkeling and famous for its exciting rock strata - the famous Lulworth Crumple and Stair Hole. The Fossil Forest and Range Walks east to Tyneham, Warbarrow Bay and Kimmeridge can be accessed from the beach

Maiden Castle iron age hill-fort  Poundbury Hillfort, Maumbury Rings  and the Roman Town House are all splendid examples of Dorchester’s unique heritage.