Why do so many people enjoy self catering holidays in Dorset?
The county of Dorset is famous for its warm summers and mild winters. Although a southern county, Dorset is not as westerly as Devon and Cornwall so experiences fewer Atlantic storms.
This beautiful county in Southwest England on the English Channel coast has many attractive towns and cities. Dorchester the county town in the south of Dorset is a cultural centre and attracts many tourists every year. Bordering Somerset in the north west, Devon in the West, Wiltshire in the north east and Hampshire in the East it is a mainly rural county with a small number of people living there.
Famed for its dramatic and picturesque coast, with features like Lulworth Cove, Chesil Beach, Durdle Door and the Isle of Portland, holiday makers flock there every year to hunt for ancient fossils. One way to explore the Jurassic Coast is to follow the South West Coast Path National Trail. Dorset's coastline was made a World Heritage site in 2001 because it has a selection of unique geological landforms.
Why is self catering such a popular type of holiday in Dorset?
People taking self catering holidays usually stay in the holiday towns of Poole, Weymouth, Bournemouth, Lyme Regis and Swanage. The historic market towns of Blandford Forum, Sherborne, Gillingham, Shaftesbury and Sturminster Newton serve the farms and villages of the Blackmore Vale, Thomas Hardy's Vale of the Little Dairies. The Badger Brewery of Hall and Woodhouse is in Blandford. Bridport, Lyme Regis and Wareham are also market towns. The small coastal towns of Lyme Regis and Swanage are very popular with tourists.
Popular Dorset towns:
- Cranborne
- Shaftesbury
- Powerstock
- Kimmeridge
- Holwell
- Charlton Marshall
- Milton Abbas
- Winterborne Herringston
- Winterborne Stickland
- Cattistock
- Burstock
- Beer Hackett
- Glanvilles Wootton
- Lillington
- Bradford Peverell
- Stour Row
- Motcombe
- Wimborne Minster
- Hinton St Mary
- Bridport
- Winterborne St Martin
- Bothenhampton
- Frampton
- Affpuddle
- Pokesdown
- Winterborne Came
- Puncknowle
The districts of Dorset include Weymouth and Portland, West Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, East Dorset, Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole. Visitors come to enjoy the many ancient buildings including Corfe Castle, Wareham, Shaftesbury, the monastery at Abbotsbury.
Dorset, steeped in evocative history
In the 12th century civil war, Dorset was fortified with the construction of the defensive castles at Corfe Castle, Serborne Castle, Powerstock, Wareham and Shaftesbury, and the strengthening of the monasteries such as at Abbotsbury.
Places of interest in Dorset
- Kingston Lacy
- Moors Valley Country Park
- Hardy Monument
- Crichel House
- Eggardon
- Lulworth Castle
- Stonebarrow Hill
- Flagstones
- Osmington White Horse
- Blue Pool
- Hammoon Manor
- Melbury Down
- Monkey World
- Mount Pleasant henge
- Corfe Castle
- Abbotsbury Abbey
- Portland Castle
- Portland Sculpture Park
- Dorset Cursus
- Sherborne Castle
- Brownsea Island
- Milton Abbey
- Bovington Tank Museum
- Bulbarrow Hill
- Forde Abbey
- Badbury Rings
- Sherborne House
- Horton Tower
- Jordan Hill Roman Temple
- Winterborne Came House
- Chettle House
- Wareham Forest
- Kingston Maurward
- Sherborne Abbey
- Cranborne Manor
- Holt Heath, Dorset
- Hod Hill
- Edmondsham House
- Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
- Fiddleford Mill
- Hengistbury Head
- Hambledon Hill
- Swanage Railway
- Abbotsbury Castle
- Wimborne Minster
- Hardy's Cottage
- Bokerley Dyke
- Limekiln Hill
- Purse Caundle Manor
- Maiden Castle
- Cerne Abbas giant
- Pilsdon Pen
- Abbotsbury Sub-tropical Gardens
- St Catherine's Chapel, Abbotsbury
- Nine Barrow Down
- Clouds Hill
- Poundbury Hill
- Canford Heath
- Kingston Russell
- Lewesdon Hill
- Maumbury Rings