Undoubtedly my favourite county. I try to visit at least once a year. Where I stay is in the village of Uplyme, just outside Lyme Regis. Although this is technically in Devon, the border with Dorset is right outside the house, and I spend most of my time in Dorset.
My friends Pat & Peter Dench used to run a superb B&B there, which is now in the hands of their son and daughter-in-law, as well as their own tea room. - see the link on the left for The Old Black Dog
So, here we go................DorsetABBOTSBURY
BEAMINSTER
BLUE POOL
BOVINGTON
CERNE ABBAS
CHESIL BEACH
CORFE CASTLE
DORCHESTER
DURDLE DOOR
DURLSTON
LULWORTH CASTLE
LULWORTH COVE & WEST LULWORTH
LYME REGIS
OSMINGTON MILLS
POOLE HARBOUR
PORTLAND & PORTLAND BILL
SANDBANKS
SHAFTESBURY
SHERBORNE
SWANAGE & THE STEAM RAILWAY
TOLPUDDLE
TYNEHAM
WEST BAY
WEYMOUTH
WIMBORNE MINSTER
ABBOTSBURY
The village of Abbotsbury sits on the B3157, Burton Bradstock to Chickerell road - or, if you're a biker, the West Bay to Portland road! St Catherine's Chapel stands high on a hill overlooking the lane down to the Swannery.
This has got to be one of my favourite views in the whole country. I always pull into the layby, just for the view - and it's even better when the ice cream van is there!
St. Catherine's chapel is the lone building in the centre of this picture, taken from the B3157. The road drops down behind the hill, to Abbotsbury and the Swannery, both hidden from view here. The chapel escaped destruction during the Dissolution in 1539, probably because it was a clear landmark for sailors and beacon fires were lit on top of the tower.
The pretty Dorset village of Abbotsbury was once home to a great abbey, founded in 1044 by a thegn of King Cnut, and richly endowed. The remains now visible - part of a building which may have been the abbot's lodging - date from the 13th and 14th centuries. Nearby is the abbey's vast tithe barn, built about 1400, and there are further abbey remains in the churchyard of St Nicholas Church, including two medieval sarcophagi.
Abbotsbury Swannery on the Fleet Lagoon in Dorset is unique. This is the only place in the world where you are able to walk through the heart of a colony of nesting Mute Swans.
The Swannery was established by Benedictine Monks who built a monastery at Abbotsbury during the 1040's. The monks farmed the swans to produce food for their lavish Dorset banquets. St Peter's monastery was destroyed in 1539 during the dissolution. Some of the ruins are still visible around St Nicholas' Church in the village.
The Swannery was established by Benedictine Monks who built a monastery at Abbotsbury during the 1040's. The monks farmed the swans to produce food for their lavish Dorset banquets. St Peter's monastery was destroyed in 1539 during the dissolution. Some of the ruins are still visible around St Nicholas' Church in the village.
The swans are perfectly free to fly away, but are encouraged to nest here, by the provision of a safe environment, nesting sites and food. The cygnets are protected by swanherds. They also care for sick and injured swans, some being brought here from other areas to be cared for.
BEAMINSTER
The monks set up pools where they grew reeds. These were used for thatching roofs. The Swannery is now rejuvenating these reed beds for the same purpose, and the reeds also provide a habitat for reed warblers - little brown birds that you might not spot, but you can certainly hear them as you walk by the ponds.
the reed ponds
The swanherd's hut
The nesting area
Feeding time! You can feed up to 600 swans twice a day!
The swans may have provided meat for the monks long ago, but today they provide feathers for the helmets of the Gentlemen at Arms; (such as the Constable of the Tower of London).
In addition, Lloyds of London uses quills from Abbotsbury swan feathers to register insurance losses in their "Doom" book.
Just a short drive north of Bridport, Beaminster is a town known for its award-winning historic gardens and its colony of talented artists. Indeed, my friend, the late Roy Barrett lived and worked here. He was renowned mostly for his depiction of motorcycles and motorcycling, and indeed, our house is full of his wonderful work.
This is one of my favourites. It hangs in our lounge
Sadly, Roy passed away just before Christmas 2022. He will be sorely missed.
Beaminster is an attractive old market town in central Dorset. The town was a centre of the cloth trade, and it boasts a fine medieval church with a 16th-century tower. Many of the older buildings in Beaminster were destroyed in three devastating fires during the 17th and 18th centuries, but even so, there are still over 200 listed buildings in the historic town centre.
Beaminster was the boyhood home of the Arctic explorer, naturalist and author Samuel Hearne. Hearne is considered by some to have been the inspiration for the tragic figure in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Beaminster is the adopted home town of actor Martin Clunes.
Set north of the Purbeck Hills between Wareham and Corfe Castle off the A351.
The Blue Pool at Furzebrook constantly varies in colour. Very fine clay in suspension in the water diffracts light in different ways producing a spectrum of colour sometimes green sometimes turquoise.
The clay pit was dug in the 19th. century for the pottery of Josiah Wedgwood and others.
Set in a deep clay bowl, steps lead down to the waters edge or up to views of the Purbeck Hills. The Pool is surrounded by 25 acres of heath woodland and gorse interlaced with sandy paths that seem to take you to another world.
The web-site says 'discover the luxury of silence'. How right they are!
In the corner of the car park, there is a marked footpath. Walk a little way down here, and there is another marker, this time marking a spot close to where he died, when he crashed his Brough Superior motorcycle.
The web-site says 'discover the luxury of silence'. How right they are!
BOVINGTON
I'll cover the tank museum at a later date. However, if you go down King George V road, at the end of Bovington Camp, you'll find a car park and viewing place. As well as being an excellent spot from which to watch armoured vehicles coming over the top of what almost amounts to a small mountain, it is here that you will find a memorial stone to T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia).
Of course, Cerne Abbas is renowned for the huge chalk carving of The Giant. This Scheduled Ancient Monument lies just north of the village, and there is a well-designed viewing point where you can see him in all his glory
The Giant is a 180 ft high ancient chalk figure carved out into the steep sloping hillside above the village.
The origins of the Giant, now owned by the National Trust, are a mix of fact and speculation. Some believe that he represents the Roman god Hercules or that he is a Pagan fertility symbol. There is no known historical record before 1694, however recent studies suggest the giant was first made by the Saxons between AD 700 and 1100.
The name "Cerne" may be a reference to Cernunnos, a Celtic fertility god. During the 19th century, the ditches that make up the giant's penis were filled in with dirt by prudish Victorians.
However, there is far more to Cerne Abbas than just the giant. Take the time to wander down into the village itself. It's really quite beautiful, with a wealth of houses dating from Early Tudor times to the Georgian period. There's several little tea rooms and public houses too.
A Benedictine monastery was founded there in the 10th century, but only the porch to the Abbot's hall remains. There is also a 14th. century tithe barn.
Despite the loss of the Abbey the village managed to not just survive but prosper; Cerne’s fresh underground water supply fuelling a highly successful brewing trade. The quality beer was sold as far afield as London and was even exported to the Americas. Due to this industry, Cerne Abbas at one time boasted no fewer than 15 public houses with a population of only 1500. Waterpower also gave rise to many other small industries including milling and silk weaving.
(above) Tudor houses in Abbey Street, opposite the church. (below) Georgian house next door, at no.1 Abbey Street.
(above) The New Inn in Long Street, one of 15 inns that used to stand in Cerne Abbas.It has carved stonework from the abbey ruins in the east wall and a pump dated 1774. Until 1860, courts were held in the main bar, and prisoners were held in what is now the ladies' toilets!
Until 1914, villagers paid their rent to the Pitt-Rivers estate, and received a threepenny beer voucher in return.
CHESIL BEACH & The Fleet Lagoon
Local fishermen are reputed to have landed a mermaid on Chesil Beach in 1757!
Chesil Beach is an 18-mile long shingle barrier beach stretching from West Bay to Portland and is one of Dorset’s most iconic landmarks. From a conveniently placed lay-by on the B3157, on a clear day, you can see almost the entire length of this strange ridge, as well as Abbotsbury Swannery and the tied Isle of Portland. Behind the ridge is the tidal Fleet lagoon, a large expanse of brackish water fed by both the salt sea and fresh water streams.
The pebbles on Chesil Beach are graded in size from potato-sized near Portland to pea-sized at Bridport and are made up of mainly flint and chert from the Cretaceous and Jurassic rocks, along with Bunter pebbles from Budleigh Salterton. It is believed that smugglers landing on the beach at night could could judge their position along the coast simply by picking up a handful of shingle.
The Fleet is a long, narrow lagoon, with only a narrow entrance to seawater via Portland Harbour at Ferrybridge. The sheltering effect of Chesil Bank on the seaward side of the lagoon causes the Fleet to be warmer in summer and cooler in winter than the surrounding area.
This allows several distinct types of habitat: Saltmarsh, Freshwater marsh, and coastal grass cliffs. The area provides important breeding ground to several bird species as well, among them the little tern and ringed plover. The Fleet supports over 150 species of seaweed and 60 species of mollusc. The western end of The Fleet is home to the very large mute swan colony, at the Abbotsbury Swannery
This unique nature reserve is operated by the Ilchester Estate, who have owned the property since 1543. The estate provides a warden to look after the interests of wildlife in the region
Corfe Castle is a beautiful little village. In its small space, it includes a model of the village itself, as it would have been when the castle was intact, and a most impressive castle ruin. Parking is pretty nigh impossible there, so I hopped on the Swanage Steam Railway, which conveniently stops almost in the heart of the village.
You can see the mound and Corfe Castle from high up on the downs. This view shows how the castle was constructed to guard a natural break in the hills. Indeed, the word 'corfe' is a saxon word meaning 'gap'.
In 978, this gap was the scene of the murder of Saxon King Edward, by his step-mother, Queen Aelfrida, to promote his half-brother Aethelred. He was later canonised as St. Edward the Martyr.
The Castle was a royal castle established by William the Conqueror and partially destroyed in the English Civil War. In between the two, it was obviously considered to be strategically important by several Monarchs. After William I started it, Henry I constructed the great stone keep; King John built a suite of private apartments in the western bailey; Henry III built the southern bailey wall; and Edward I built the gatehouse with its' drum towers. now it's a majestic ruin, still guarding the gap in the Purbeck Hills
In the village surrounding the base of the castle mound, is a small miniature replica of the village, which shows how it must have looked when the castle was first built.
The castle, although little is left of it, still towers above the village, and one of the best views is from the garden of the Bankes Arms Hotel ;) It had considerable use as a prison, and one dungeon was an oubliette (french: oubliet = forgotten) , accessible only through a trapdoor in the floor of the room above.
It is said that King John left 22 French knights to starve to death here.
The castle is extensively ruined. On Cromwell's orders, it was blown up with gunpowder.
DORCHESTER
Dorset prides itself on being the only county in England with no motorways, and no cities. Therefore, Dorchester is the county town of Dorset. It is an historic town, with no less than 8 excellent museums, and this Art Deco cinema.
It is renowned for being the birthplace of Thomas Hardy, and its history can be traced back to the Iron Age. It is also home to a Roman Town House, the finest example of its kind in Britain.
One of the suburbs of Dorchester is Poundbury, designed by HRH Charles, Prince Of Wales (latterly King Charles III). A more soul-less place I've seldom been.....
What to do in Dorchester on a rainy day? Well.......you go to the County Museum. The nice man there not only looks after your crash helmet, but takes your wringing wet motorcycle jacket and gloves, and dries them out over a heater whilst you have a look round.
The museum covers all aspects of Dorset living and history- from the Jurassic period onwards. They have a lovely display of animated dinosaurs, and a lovely display of toys. I particularly liked the old dollshouse. You're not permitted to take flash photographs in there, but I have this amazing little camera that's quite good at non-flash interiors.
How different from my own dollshouse!
DURDLE DOOR
The 'drinking dragon' natural stone arch, is probably one of the most famous sights of the Jurassic Coast. Sadly, the only day I managed to get time to visit, a film was being shot there, and I couldn't get close to it. I'm hoping to go back next summer and I will make sure it is one of the first places I visit.
It is privately owned by the Weld Family who own the Lulworth Estate, but it is also open to the public.
DURLSTON
situated 1 mile from Swanage in Dorset, is a fabulous 280 acre countryside paradise, consisting of sea-cliffs, coastal limestone downland, hay meadows, hedgerows and woodland. With stunning views, walking trails, the historic Great Globe, superb geology and fascinating wildlife. At the right time of year, it's an excellent platform from which to spot Dolphins out in the bay.
The Great Globe, 10 feet in diameter, and weighing 40 tons was placed here in 1887 by John Mowlem, founder of the huge construction companies.
LULWORTH CASTLE
Lulworth castle, built in the early 17th Century as a hunting lodge, became a country house at the heart of a large estate. Thomas Howard, 3rd Lord Bindon, built the Castle in order to entertain hunting parties for the King and Court. The Howards owned it until 1641 when it was purchased by Humphrey Weld, the direct ancestor of the present owners.
The exterior of the Castle changed little over the years but the interior evolved in line with changing fashions until it was gutted by a disastrous fire in 1929. Restoration work began on the ruin by the Department of the Environment and was followed through to completion in 1998 by English Heritage.
The fascinating thing is, the fire started in the basement kitchens and spread upwards. The decision was taken to simply replace the roof and windows, but leave the shell gutted. Hence you can see at ground level how the castle was constructed, upwards through various layers to the top floor with its 1920s decor.
The Catholic Church of St. Mary, built in 1786 as a family chapel. According to Weld family legend, they were only allowed to build the church if it did not look like a church! So they built a domed neo-classical structure that looks much like the allegorical temples much in vogue during the late 18th century.
The Roman Catholic chapel in the castle grounds
LULWORTH COVE & WEST LULWORTH
Whereas the Castle is in East Lulworth, the Cove is just down the road in West Lulworth.
Lulworth Cove was formed approximately 10,000 years ago by the awesome powers of a river and the sea. It continues to evolve behind a narrow Portland Stone entrance as the softer Purbeck, Wealden, Greensand and Chalk exposures are eroded, leaving an almost perfect shell shaped bay.
There is a large car park for the 'Grockles', who flock there in their thousands, and various shops and cafes. But of an evening, after they've gone home, there is a pretty footpath down from the Castle Inn in West Lulworth to the cove.
Thomas Hardy called it 'Lulwind', and used it as the site of the drowning of Sergeant Troy in 'Far From The Madding Crowd'.
Just up over the (steep) hill from Lulworth Cove, is this - the Stair Hole. It's a collapsed system of sea arches and caves, and it's an excellent place to see the 'Dorset Crumple' - the visible strata of rock formations, pushed up as though something put a huge hand each end of Dorset and squeezed.
and this is the Castle Inn in West Lulworth. I stayed here once, and the accommodation was excellent. The pub is also renowned for its' food.
My pretty wood-panelled room had a French door that gave access onto the flat roof of the kitchen. Because the inn was built into a steep hillside, I could then just step off the roof onto the garden, and spend my evenings sitting at a bench reading, warmed by the late evening sunshine.
LYME REGIS
Lyme Regis is a quaint, genteel sort of town. It has a beautiful sea front, facing the broad expanse of Lyme Bay, and the Cobb harbour, made world-famous when it was featured in the film 'The French Lieutenant's Woman'
Although Lyme Regis beach is naturally shingle, at the harbour end, a boulder barrier has been built and thousands of tons of sand imported from France to form a sandy beach for the children. This area is quite separate from the main town, but it is well-supplied by pubs and places to eat. The other side of the harbour is Monmouth Beach, which returns to shingle
Where the River Lim flows out to the sea............
OSMINGTON MILLS
Apart from the spectacular white horse, complete with rider, on the hills overlooking Osmington village, the Smugglers' Inn is really all there is at Osmington Mills. It lies in a sunken hollow at the end of a dead-end road, and you can just imagine smugglers using its' tucked-away location for their nefarious deeds!
It dates from the 13th. century, and was once the headquarters of the notorious French smuggler, Pierre Latour. It was called the Crown Inn back then.
POOLE HARBOUR
Poole is Europe's largest natural harbour and a stunning location for all types of watersports fringed with unspoilt woodland and coastal walks. The harbour is a site of nature conservation, a wetland teeming with wading birds with many international protections in place.
I've never explored Poole, only ever riding along the edge of the harbour on my way to get the chain ferry across to Studland
PORTLAND AND PORTLAND BILL
The Bill (the pointy end of Portland) is an important way-point for coastal traffic, and so three lighthouses have been built to protect shipping, in particular from its strong tidal race and shallow reef. Although called the Isle of Portland, it's a peninsula, joined to the mainland by Chesil Beach.
The most recent lighthouse is the distinctively white and red striped Portland Bill Lighthouse, which was built in 1906 and is 35 metres (115 ft) high
It's one of the few places in Dorset with a FREE dedicated motorcycle park. The views across Chesil Beach and the Fleet as you descend the steep road back towards Weymouth are unsurpassed.
Pictured above, is the crane built to lower quarried stone onto waiting boats.
Portland is famous for 'Portland stone', a much-prized limestone cut from local quarries for centuries. It is white and tough, yet soft enough to be carved. It has been used in many famous buildings, including Sir Christopher Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral. Most of the quarries now lie abandoned, but one has been turned into a sculpture park, with art by local sculptors scattered along trails through the old stone workings.
Despite the huge amount of quarrying that has been done, Portland still has a visible rare medieval strip field system.
There is a mark on the seaward side of the lighthouse. Passing boats align the top of the obelisk with this mark to ensure that they are clear of the undersea reef
Pulpit rock, left behind after quarrying
SANDBANKS
This narrow promontory sticking out across the entrance to Poole harbour interests me for its' large number of Streamline Art Deco houses. Sadly, because Sandbanks is a property hot spot, and one of the most expensive places to live in the UK, many of them are being torn down and replaced with modern apartments, to maximise the income from the land.
At the far end of the spit is a chain ferry, taking traffic across the harbour entrance to Nine Barrow Hill and Studland - and some of the most spectacular scenery Dorset has to offer.
With a lovely sandy beach on the seaward side, and fronting onto Poole Harbour on the other, it is small wonder that Sandbanks has its' own Estate Agency. And if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it!
SHAFTESBURY
Shaftesbury's biggest claim to fame is Gold Hill, which once purported to be somewhere 'oop North' in a famous Hovis TV advert!
So steep! The entrance is a narrow, sloping passage to the side of the town hall
The front of the town hall.....
Outside the front of the town hall, is a replica of the famous Hovis loaf, which brought Shaftesbury such fame. It's actually a giant charity collection box
On a sunny day, the view over Blackmoor Vale from the top of Gold Hill is stupendous!
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As you face the front of the town hall, walk right, past the coffee shop, and explore the gardens and the museum of Shaftesbury Abbey. Again, there are amazing views over Dorset from the clifftop walk. The abbey was founded in 888 AD by Alfred the Great, and it grew in fame in 979 when it held the body of St. Edward the Martyr (see the section on Corfe), and pilgrims came in their hundreds and miracles were reported.
With its abundance of medieval buildings, superb Abbey, world famous Schools, picturesque Alms houses and two Castles, Sherborne has much to offer visitors. Ideally located on the Dorset and Somerset border, it was once the capital of the kingdom of Wessex.
The 15th. century alms houses, which stand just to the left of the Abbey building, with the roofed conduit house, where the monks washed before entering the church.
Swanage itself, whilst attractive, is quite an ordinary seaside town. However, the steam railway that links it to Norden, near Corfe, is well worth a trip.
Since I last visited, the Swanage Railway has been extended through to the mainline station at Wareham.
The railway stops at Corfe Castle, to enable tourists to visit the castle (parking in the village being almost non-existent)
Oh yes, and they also run diesel locos..........
The following pictures were all taken at Norden, which was the terminus before the line was extended to Wareham. It has a large car and coach park, so is probably a better place to catch the train if you're driving, than Swanage
TOLPUDDLEIn 1834, when six farm workers from the tiny village of Tolpuddle in Dorset were sentenced to seven years’ transportation, a massive protest swept across the country. Thousands of people marched through London and many more organised petitions and protest meetings to demand their freedom.
Their ‘crime’ was to take an oath of solidarity in forming a trade union to fight for a better wage. Forming as union wasn't a crime, but taking a 'secret' oath was. This is the monument outside the Martyrs' Museum, sculpted by Thompson Dagnell. The full story is told inside. The men were eventually reprieved, but only James Hamett returned to Tolpuddle. He is buried in the churchyard.
The museum comprises the central section of this row. In 1934 the TUC decide to build a lasting tribute to the Tolpuddle Martyrs by building six cottages to accommodate retired agricultural trade unionists. A levy of a farthing per member was collected from unions and land was bought on the edge of the village. The cottages were designed to high standards for artisan dwellings with electricity brought to Tolpuddle and a new well dug.
On the green in the middle of the village, stands the sycamore tree under which the Martyrs held their meetings. The second tree has been grown from a cutting from the original.
At the other end of Tolpuddle is the Old Chapel, now dedicated to the memory of the Martyrs
TYNEHAM
Tyneham Village in Dorset has been deserted for over 60 years, since the second world war. Before that it was an idyllic countryside village, only a couple of miles from the sea and the delightful Worbarrow Bay. It had it's own school, church and post office, several farms and lots of cottages and the mansion called Tyneham House, or the Great House as it was known.
The village had been here since Saxon times, and life for the villagers was idyllic and simple. There was no electricity or running water but it was still a lovely place to live, free from the trouble and strife of the outside world. All this changed just before the Christmas of 1943 when the villagers were told they must leave temporarily, however they have not been allowed to return to this day and the village of Tyneham has remained as if frozen in time for the last 60 years.
It remains in the middle of the MoD tank range, but is now cared for, and open to the public at weekends.
Despite it being a lovely Summer's day when I went there, I felt tinged with sadness for the people who were forced out of such an idyllic place - no more so, than in the restored little church, with its' beautifully tended churchyard.
Close-up of the 40 year old telephone box - one of only 6 of this model left in the country, I believe. (Not a lot of good where you don't have electricity though!)
Inside the church, which has been fully restored, and the churchyard well-tended. Occasional services are still held here
The little village school is also complete and looked after
Below, all that is left of Tyneham House
WEST BAY
It's only a tiny little place, but I love going there of an evening, for fish and chips from one of the little chalets lining the pretty harbour. In fact, loads of bikes go there on a Summer's evening. The harbour, both sea and river side, is attractive enough, but if you take the time to walk down to the beach, the cliffs are spectacular in the late evening, when the dying sun's rays make them positively glow.
and on a busy Summer Sunday, it looks like this............
a lot of families take their kids there, just to see the bikes - quite a mini free bike show
WEYMOUTH
Another pretty conventional seaside town, although the area around the river is nice. However, this Art Deco building on the seafront has always caught my eye.
WIMBORNE MINSTER
Wimborne Minster, located on the banks of the rivers Stour and Allen, has a tiny Minster, dedicated to St. Cuthberga, sister to Ina, who was king of the West Saxons. She founded a Benedictine nunnery here in 705. Wimborne itself has a history dating back to Roman times.
The nunnery was destroyed by the Danes in 1013 and never rebuilt.
In 1043, Edward The Confessor founded a college of Secular Canons here, and in 1318, Edward II declared the Minster to be a Royal Peculiar i.e. not part of a bishop's see, but only answerable to the Monarch. That lasted until 1846.
The ceiling of the west tower was white, but in 1912 was changed to bright blue.
Within the Minster church is a chained library, one of only four in the country, and the second largest. The oldest book dates from 1300 and is hand-written. There is also a book of sermons which belonged to Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII. The Minster also has an astronomical clock, showing both the sun and the moon circling the earth.
Wimborne also has a pretty amazing model town, based on how the town looked in the 50s.
A wedding is taking place inside the Minster model
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