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COUNTY OF DORSET
Just 2-3 hours away from Bath,
Dorset must be one of England’s most unchanged counties. It
is still mainly rural with traditional market towns and picturesque
villages.
Bath’s main link with Dorset is the writer Jane Austen, who not only
used Bath in her novel, Persuasion, but also Dorset’s
Lyme Regis, an attractive historic town and port.
Dorset’s own literary connection is Thomas Hardy, who uses the ancient
name of Wessex in describing his native landscape. Visits can be made to
many of Hardy’s Wessex villages, the county town of
Dorchester, his birth place at Higher Bockhampton and his
burial place at Stinsford.
The enigmatic T E Lawrence (of Arabia) was based at Bovington Camp and
visits can be made to his house at
Cloud’s Hill and his grave at Moreton.
Dorset’s ancient landscape can be explored at
Maiden Castle, the
Badbury Rings, Abbotsbury Castle and the unique
Cerne Giant. The medieval landscape is dominated by the
spectacular ruins of Corfe Castle.
The dramatic coast line includes the chalk headlands around Swanage,
Poole Harbour with the nature reserve on
Brownsea
Island, the limestone of the Isle of Purbeck, the narrow
embankment of Chesil Beach, the geological phenomena of Lulworth Cove,
Durdle Door and Kimmeridge Bay, and the highest point on the south coast
at Golden Cap.
Towns and villages complement the landscape. Wareham, Sherborne, with
its castle, Shaftesbury, Bridport, Bere Regis, Powerstock, Worth
Matravers, Milton Abbas, Ashmore and many others convey the richness of
the county. Tolpuddle famous for its martyrs, Abbotsbury with its
Swannery, Wimborne Minster for the
Kingston Lacy Estate and
Swanage for its steam railway service all demonstrate the diversity
of Dorset.
Let Bath Parade Guides help you make the most of your visit to Dorset
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