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Top Attractions in West Dorset

Maiden Castle

Maiden Castle is an Iron Age hill fort 2.5 kilometres south west of Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age. The name Maiden Castle may be a modern construction meaning that the hill fort looks impregnable, or it could derive from the British Celtic mai-dun, meaning a "great hill." The earliest archaeological evidence of human activity on the site consists of a Neolithic causewayed enclosure and bank barrow. In about 1800 BC, during the Bronze Age, the site was used for growing crops before being abandoned. Maiden Castle itself was built in about 600 BC; the early phase was a simple and unremarkable site, similar to many other hill forts in Britain and covering 6.4 hectares . Around 450 BC it underwent major expansion, during which the enclosed area was nearly tripled in size to 19 ha, making it the largest hill fort in Britain and by some definitions the largest in Europe. At the same time, Maiden Castles defences were made more complex with the addition of further ramparts and ditches. Around 100 BC habitation at the hill fort went into decline and became focused at the eastern end of the site. It was occupied until at least the Roman period, by which time it was in the territory of the Durotriges, a Celtic tribe. After the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD, Maiden Castle appears to have been abandoned, although the Romans may have had a military presence on the site. In the late 4th century AD, a temple and ancillary buildings were constructed. In the 6th century AD the hill top was entirely abandoned and was used only for agriculture during the medieval period. Maiden Castle has provided inspiration for composer John Ireland and authors Thomas Hardy and John Cowper Powys. The study of hill forts was popularised in the 19th century by archaeologist Augustus Pitt Rivers. In the 1930s, archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler undertook the first archaeological excavations at Maiden Castle, raising its profile among the public. Further excavations were carried out under Niall Sharples, which added to an understanding of the site and repaired damage caused in part by the large number of visitors. Today the site is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is maintained by English Heritage.

Cerne Abbas Giant

The Cerne Abbas Giant is a hill figure near the village of Cerne Abbas in Dorset, England. Made by a turf-cut outline filled with chalk, it depicts a large, naked man, with a substantial erect penis, typically described as a giant wielding a club. The figure is listed as a scheduled monument in the United Kingdom and the site where he stands is owned by the National Trust. The figure has been the subject of much study and speculation, but its origin and age are unclear. It is often thought of as an ancient construction, though the earliest mention of it dates to the late 17th century. Early antiquarians associated it, on little evidence, with a Saxon deity, while other scholars sought to identify it with a Celtic British figure or the Roman Hercules, or some syncretization of the two. Archaeological evidence that parts of the drawing have been lost over time strengthen the Hercules identification. However the lack of earlier descriptions leads modern scholars to conclude that it may date from the 17th century, and perhaps originated as political satire. Regardless of its age, the Cerne Abbas Giant has become an important part of local culture and folklore, which often associates it with fertility. It is one of Englands best known hill figures and is a major visitor attraction in the region.

Osmington White Horse

The Osmington White Horse is a hill figure sculpted in 1808 into the limestone Osmington hill just north of Weymouth called the South Dorset Downs, within the parish of Osmington. The figure is of King George III, who regularly visited Weymouth, and made it the first resort, riding on his horse, and can be seen for miles around. It is 280 feet long and 323 feet high in size and is best viewed from the A353 road. In 1989 the figure was restored for a broadcast of the TV show Challenge Anneka, although the work was subsequently criticised by historians for doing more harm than good. Anneka Rice, the presenter of the show, stated that planning permission and advice had been sought before the work. In August 2011 pranksters added a horn made from plastic sheeting to make the horse resemble a unicorn. In 2012, it was announced that for the Olympics 2012, the horse would be cleaned up and slightly recut to make it look like it originally did upon its cutting in 1808. The restoration project occurred on 11 March 2012, where Princess Anne attended the service which also revealed a brand new plaque, made of local stone. The restoration was cut into shape by a group of volunteers, who have spent the last two years carrying out repairs.

Chesil Beach

Chesil Beach , sometimes called Chesil Bank, in Dorset, southern England is one of three major shingle structures in Britain. Its toponym is derived from the Old English ceosel or cisel, meaning "gravel" or "shingle". The beach is often identified as a tombolo, although research into the geomorphology of the area has revealed that it is in fact a barrier beach which has "rolled" landwards, joining the mainland with the Isle of Portland, giving the appearance of a tombolo. The shingle beach is 29 kilometres long, 200 metres wide and 15 metres high. The beach and the Fleet are part of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the location for a 2007 novel, On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan. At the eastern end of the beach at the village of Chiswell, against the cliffs of the Isle of Portland, the beach curves round sharply to form Chesil Cove. This part of the beach protects the low-lying village from flooding. The beach has been the scene of many shipwrecks, and as such was named by Thomas Hardy as "Dead Mans Bay". Westwards the shingle forms a straight line along the coast, enclosing the Fleet, a shallow tidal lagoon. The beach provides shelter from the prevailing winds and waves for the town of Weymouth and the village of Chiswell on Portland. Varying with the Banks unbroken increase in height, to 14.7 metres, above mean high water, the size of the flint and chert shingle varies from pea-sized at the north-west end to orange-sized at the south-east end . It is said that smugglers who landed on the beach in the middle of the night could judge "exactly where they were" by the size of the shingle. There are three owners of the beach; the Crown Estates own the beach from Portland to its boundary stone at Littlesea. The bed of the lagoon and Chesil Beach adjacent to the Fleet, as well as the majority of the land of Upper Fleet to West Bexington, is owned by the Ilchester Estates, who are based north of Dorchester, but also have a local office in Abbotsbury. Finally from West Bexington to West Bay it is owned by the National Trust. The whole of Chesil Beach south from the Portland Bound Stone is registered common land over which there is a right of public access on foot.

The Spittles

The Spittles is an area of coastal cliff in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. It is situated between the settlements of Lyme Regis to the west and Charmouth to the east. It forms part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site designated in 2001. The cliff contains layers of Blue Lias and clay; in wet seasons the clay causes the layers above to become saturated and hence landslips occur, exposing many fossils. Mary Anning famously found an Ichthyosaurus in the Spittles. The Spittles also lies just to the west of another popular fossiling location along the Jurassic Coastline at Black Venn. The base of the Black Venn mudslide is one of the best places to find fossils along the Jurassic Coastline. The sea washes the fossils out of the mud and leaves them to be found amongst the shingle between the boulders. Its possible to walk here from Lyme Regis, but care must be taken not to get cut off by the tide. The area is also prone to rock falls and mudslides, particularly during winter storms.

St Edwold's Church

St Edwold's Church in Stockwood, Dorset, England was rebuilt in the 15th century. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It was declared redundant on 23 January 1959, and was vested in the Trust on 1 March 1972. St Edwold’s Church is often described as Dorset's smallest. The church sits next to a farmhouse directly under the wooded heights of Bubb Down. It is a single-celled building. The porch has the date "1636" inscribed, reflecting the fact that the church was rebuilt to some extent in the seventeenth century when a bell turret was also installed. However, John Newman and Nikolaus Pevsner in their Buildings of England volume describe it as "Perp, with Henry VIII side windows and a three-light E window with panel tracery," and also refer to the "delightfully naive bell-turret, round, with a cap on four stumpy columns and a big grotesque face." Inside, the church is very plainly furnished. The dedication to St Edwold is unique in Dorset. Edwold was the brother of St Edmund the Martyr, King of East Anglia, and he lived as a recluse at nearby Cerne after his sibling’s death. It is not entirely clear why Stockwood church is dedicated to Edwold, but Kenneth Smith's guidebook suggests that he may have also had a cell here as well as at Cerne.

Golden Cap

Golden Cap is a hill and cliff situated on the English Channel coast between Bridport and Charmouth in Dorset, England. The cliffs are the highest point on the south coast of Great Britain. The name derives from the distinctive outcropping of golden greensand rock present at the very top of the cliff. The hill is owned by the National Trust and forms part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. The Jurassic Coast is 155 kilometres in length, running from Orcombe Point near Exmouth, in the west, to Old Harry Rocks on the Isle of Purbeck, in the east . The coastal exposures along the coastline provide a continuous sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock formations spanning approximately 185 million years of the Earths history. The Jurassic Coast contains a large range of important fossil sites. Golden Cap stands at 191 metres and is visible for tens of miles along the coastline. The hill is accessible via a coastal footpath from Seatown, and takes around 40 minutes to reach the summit. Behind the cliff is Langdon Wood, a small wood of mainly Corsican Pine, planted in the 1950s, whose trees originate from a nearby copse known as "Eleanors Clump". Langdon is owned by the National Trust, and encompasses a circular walk of approximately one mile. The base of the cliff is covered with large boulders, and is popular with fossil collectors. Storms have previously exposed fossilised ammonites and belemnites in the Blue Lias base.

Thomas Hardy's Cottage

Thomas Hardys Cottage, in Higher Bockhampton, Dorset, is a small cob and thatch building that is the birthplace of the English author Thomas Hardy. He was born there in 1840 and lived in the cottage until he was aged 34—during which time he wrote the novels Under the Greenwood Tree and Far from the Madding Crowd —when he left home to be married to Emma Gifford. The cottage was built by Hardys great-grandfather in 1800. It is now a National Trust property, and a popular tourist attraction. The property has a typical cottage garden, and the interior displays furniture which, although not from the Hardy family, is original to the period. The property is situated on the northern boundary of Thorncombe Wood. It is only three miles from Max Gate, the house that he designed and lived in with Emma from 1885 until his death in 1928. In 2012 the go ahead was given to a project to build a new visitor centre near the cottage. The project also included new trails in Thorncombe Wood. The project, which secured £525,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, was a joint partnership between Dorset County Council and the National Trust. The visitor centre opened in September 2014.
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