Spotlight on Dorset

Literary Heritage

More than 150 years ago, author Thomas Hardy described starlight over the county where he lived and which he called South Wessex.

'The sovereign brilliancy of Sirius pierced the eye with a steely glitter, the star called Capella was yellow, Aldebaran and Betelgueux shone with a fiery red. To persons standing alone on a hill during a clear midnight such as this, the roll of the world eastward is almost a palpable movement'.

Dorset’s landscape is much the same today. It is a special blend of coast and country, from the hilltop town of Shaftesbury in the far north, to the sandy beaches of Weymouth in the south, and the remote and rolling vales in between, Dorset is quiet, relatively unspoiled, and the perfect place for a cycling or walking holiday. Even the towns have not changed very much since Thomas Hardy depicted them in Far From the Madding Crowd and Tess of the d’Urbervilles. You can still see a working water mill at Sturminster Newton, whose beautiful Manor Farm was once owned by Enid Blyton. Known for her quintessentially English children’s stories, Five on Finniston Farm is believed to be based on this area. There have been a few changes made though - Piddletown, the inspiration for Hardy’s Weatherbury, has since changed its name to Puddletown, which is a bit more charming!

Romantic Ruins

A little further on down the River Piddle sits Wareham, which makes much of its ancient walls built by Alfred the Great. To the south, the River Frome cuts the peninsula known as the Isle of Purbeck off from the rest of the county. It is a secluded haven for wildflowers. There are two key points of interest on Purbeck. The first is the romantic ruins of Corfe Castle, whose mighty keep still stands nearly 400 years after it was destroyed in the English Civil War. The second is the pretty seaside town of Swanage, which is thought to have some of the best weather in England. A special mention should also go to Blandford Forum, which is by no means a boring place! In the 18th century, a great fire swept through the town, so the centre is unusually uniform for an English town, and home to beautiful Georgian buildings. Another good thing that came from the fire was the Hall and Woodhouse Brewery, which has been producing its famous Badger Beer since 1777.

From Past to Present

As the county is so remote, the ancient Dorset dialect has survived in some places. As you travel through the countryside you will almost certainly spot a reddick (European robin), and you might even be buzzed by a low-flying dumbledore (bumblebee). The Dorset dialect also has, unsurprisingly for a rural and unspoilt county, very many words relating to the care of sheep, which we shall not cover here. But, as you might expect, this means that the farmers markets are some of the best in the country, and the local produce is excellent.

In the eastern corner of Dorset lie the seaside towns of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, home to half of the county’s population. These people are lucky enough to have the New Forest National Park right on their doorstep, just over the county border in Hampshire. Originally a ‘royal forest’ – King William II was killed on a hunting trip here – this is now a protected landscape, home to deer, ponies and wild adders. The Isle of Wight, a sleepy island the size of London with its own distinctive culture, is just over the Solent. These towns mean that, for all of its rolling hills and serene coastline, Dorset is a cool place. Bournemouth is quite busy, but is very trendy, with an arts university and lots of independent shops, and following the coast west towards Devon you will come across places like Bridport, with their own thriving arts scenes.

Jurassic Coast

This part of England is known as the Jurassic Coast, and is where the sea has worn away the cliffs to show us gorgeous fossils from more than 100 million years ago, when most of western Europe was underwater. Nestled in the far west of Dorset is the little town of Lyme Regis, a place of pilgrimage for those interested in all things palaeontological. In 1811, aged only 12 years old, a girl named Mary Anning discovered the fossilised remains of an ancient marine reptile called an Ichthyosaur (or fish-lizard). Its skull alone was over four feet long! She would go on to discover many more important fossils in the area, including those of the graceful Plesiosaur and the delicate flying lizard Dimorphodon. In a tragedy that Hardy himself might have written, her exploits were claimed by men, and she died relatively young.

You can follow Mary’s footsteps today by taking A Jurassic Coast Jolly, combing the local beaches, or joining a fossil hunting tour. There is some debate about lifting fossils from the rocks; do they belong to the collector who found them, or to science? If you don’t like to get your hands dirty, or have some ethical concerns, you should still check out the ammonite pavement at Monmouth Beach, where the low tide reveals hundreds of shells fossilised in limestone. By chance, this beach is where the Duke of Monmouth landed his soldiers nearly 400 years ago in an attempt to seize the throne from King James II. We have to wonder how important the intrigues of the 17th century seemed to him in that moment, when he was surrounded by so much ancient life.

Islands and Stone

Every good coastline needs a resort island, and Dorset has one with a twist. The Isle of Portland is just south of Weymouth, and is separated from the mainland by the vast pebbly stretch of Chesil Beach. Unlike many of the small islands of England’s coast, Portland has thousands of year round inhabitants, and is home to the famous Portland Stone used to build Saint Paul’s Cathedral and the United Nations building in New York City. Interestingly, the locals have a fear of the word ‘rabbit’, as bunnies would leave their warrens before a landslide at the island’s quarries and so were thought to be bad luck. This is a bit unusual, but the views from the 135-foot tall lighthouse at Portland Bill more than make up for it.

So, visit Dorset! Though one of England’s lesser known, and more remote, counties, it is all the better for it. You will have a fabulous time cycling or walking through its charming villages and along its rugged coast, and you will love its trendy towns.