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Holiday cottages in Dorset

Dorset is chalk downs (sheep, yew-tree woods, marbled white butterflies, and a carved giant) and chalk cliffs (over which Gabriel Oak's sheep cascaded and below which Sergeant Troy left his clothes at Durdle Door), and chalk streams (trout fishing), and dark-thatched stone cottages with exuberant flower gardens. It is great bowls and vales of green tree-speckled farmland looking magnificent from wooded hill-tops, some with ancient forts; and country houses in their own valleys, reminding one of Brideshead; and lots of double-barrelled village names often beginning with Winterbourne or ending with Abbas and the one and only Whitchurch Canonicorum. It is fossil-filled cliffs (and hunting them on the beaches below) by Lyme Regis (French Lieutenant's Woman) and Charmouth, and the dome of Golden Cap near Chideock, and the extraordinary 18 mile long Chesil Bank of pebbles which regularly wrecked sailing ships, enclosing a lagoon which inspired ‘Moonfleet’ (about smugglers) and shelters Abbotsbury and its swannery; and it is Portland (its views, stone and Bill), and Thomas Hardy, Egdon Heath and the lanes that Tess plodded, and Lulworth Cove which gave its name to a butterfly. Weymouth (with still handsome seafront and sandy beach where King George III made bathing machines popular) and Poole (huge natural harbour full of boats and Brownsea Island with red squirrels). Sherborne is its best looking small town. At Tyneham, Army occupation has caused an unintentional sanctuary for wild flowers, bird-song and friendly (mostly) insects. The whole Dorset coast is called a 'World Heritage Coastline'.

List all holiday cottages in Dorset

We have holiday cottages in the following places within Dorset
 

Beaminster: thriving little town (church, pubs, cafés, shops, museum, art gallery) in the midst of a conservation area, 5 miles north of the ancient historic market town of Bridport and 7 miles from the wide, unspoilt beach of West Bay on Dorset’s ‘Jurassic Coast’.

Holiday cottages in Beaminster, Dorset

 
 

Bridport: vibrant market town (arts centre, museum, cinema, shops, restaurants, pubs) renowned for good food (River Cottage series filmed nearby). West Bay (good bathing beaches, lively harbour/marina), 1½ miles. Gateway to the ‘Jurassic Coast’ (Charmouth, 7 miles; Lyme Regis, 10 miles). Cliff-top golf course and wonderful walks/cycle routes nearby.

Holiday cottages in Bridport, Dorset

 
 

Broadwindsor: conservation village with good pub, PO, shop and handsome church. Bonnie Prince Charlie spent the night here en route to Charmouth in 1651, possibly at the pub. Excellent base for walking the beautiful West Dorset countryside. Pilsdon Pen, Dorset’s highest hill and Iron Age fort (lovely views), 1½ miles. Beaminster (very attractive tiny town), 3 miles; not far to houses/gardens (some Nat. Trust) open to the public; the sea at West Bay, 8 miles; Lyme Regis (harbour) or Charmouth , both with sand, pebble and fossil beaches, about 12 miles.

Holiday cottages in Broadwindsor, Dorset

 
 

Burton Bradstock: pretty village (two pubs, award-winning beach restaurant, PO/shop, church, playground) in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, ½ mile from the sand/shingle 18 mile Chesil Beach. Golf, 1¼ miles. Bridport, 2. Abbotsbury (swannery, lagoon), 6 miles. Beautiful countryside, gentle walking, Nat. Trust houses, thatched villages, all-pervading ‘Englishness’ and a ‘World Heritage’ Jurassic Coast site.

Holiday cottages in Burton Bradstock, Dorset

 
 

Caundle Marsh: hamlet (pub, shop) 6 ½ miles from Sherborne (very attractive, old, small town with superb medieval abbey, two castles - one built by Walter Raleigh - and famous public school). Mainline railway station, 5 miles. Golf, riding and fishing within 5 miles, and many fine houses and gardens, including Stourhead and Kingston Lacy (both Nat.Trust) and Longleat, within easy reach.

Holiday cottages in Caundle Marsh, Dorset

 
 

Charlton Marshall: village (pub, church) in a river valley (coarse fishing) between Blandford Forum (Georgian town), 2 miles, and the sea at Poole and Bournemouth (sandy beaches), 17 miles. Poole Harbour is beautiful with boats and Brownsea Island (Nat. Trust, red squirrels, woods). White cliff coast (Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove), 16 miles.

Holiday cottages in Charlton Marshall, Dorset

 
 

Charmouth: large old coastal village (shops, PO, pubs, church) and the ‘Jurassic Coast’ cliffs (World Heritage Site) famous for fossils. Long sandy/pebble beach. Lyme Regis (seaside/harbour town, sand, good fish restaurant), 2 miles. Golf nearby. Bridport, 7 miles; Axminster (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s café, rail connection with Waterloo), 6 miles; River Cottage HQ (regular events), 4 miles. Beautiful, wooded country inland. Good walks.

Holiday cottages in Charmouth, Dorset

 
 

Chedington: quiet hamlet on the north edge of the Dorset downs, about 2 miles from Corscombe. Beaminster (very attractive tiny town, good and nearest shops), 3 miles; Crewkerne, 4 miles; Somerset’s ‘Hamstone country’; Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park, golf, and the sea at West Bay and Chesil Beach, all about 10 miles.

Holiday cottages in Chedington, Dorset

 
 

Chideock: pretty village (PO/shop, pubs, church), a mile from the sea (footpath to pebbly beach, good seafront pub). Excellent walking, birdwatching; spectacular ‘Jurassic Coast’ scenery (Golden Cap). Bridport (small town, swimming pool, cinema), 2 miles; seaside West Bay (golf, fish restaurant), 2½; Lyme Regis (sandy beach), 7. Weymouth (Channel Island day trips), 17.

Holiday cottages in Chideock, Dorset

 
 

Christchurch: saxon port (King Alfred), now a picturesque resort town overlooking its big natural harbour. Separating the harbour from the open sea is Hengistbury Head, a mile long headland of low hills, dunes, sandbanks, part of it nature reserve (birdwatching), much of it car free, with sandy beaches on its sea side.

Holiday cottages in Christchurch, Dorset

 
 

Corscombe: pretty by-road village with ancient church and Dorset’s pub of the year, in hilly wooded farmland close to the edge of the Downs. Very attractive Beaminster (tiny town, nearest shops), 3 miles; the start of Somerset’s glorious ‘Hamstone country’, 5 miles; Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park, golf, and the sea at West Bay and Chesil Beach, all about 10 miles..

Holiday cottages in Corscombe, Dorset

 
 

Maiden Newton: large village (pub, shops, PO, church, restaurants, railway), inspiration for Thomas Hardy’s ‘Chalknewton’. Nature trail through water meadows to Bridport (11 miles). Dorchester (county town, museum), 7 miles. Maiden Castle Iron Age hill fort, 10 miles. Weymouth (seaside town, day trips to Channel Isles), 17.

Holiday cottages in Maiden Newton, Dorset

 
 

Melbury Bubb: farm hamlet with fascinating church, beautifully sited below a wooded hill. This is West Dorset at its best, rolling countryside, unhurried, soft and gentle. Footpaths all round, lovely walking, huge views. Evershot (pub, own bakery, PO/shop, Emma film set), 1½ miles; Sherborne (attractive small town, abbey, castle), 6; the coast at Abbotsbury (famous swannery), about 15 miles or at Weymouth (sandy beach), 18. Leisure centre, 5½ miles (Yeovil). Riding, golf, swimming pool, clay pigeon shooting, all locally.

Holiday cottages in Melbury Bubb, Dorset

 
 

Milborne St Andrew: small village (church, pub, two shops) in a valley below the great chalk downland arc of the Dorset hills midway between Dorchester (county capital) and Blandford Forum (handsome Georgian market town), 8 miles from each. Lovely countryside. The ‘World Heritage’ south coast at beautiful Lulworth Cove, 17 miles; Poole and Bournemouth , 15 miles; Weymouth (Georgian resort town with sandy beach), 18 miles.

Holiday cottages in Milborne St Andrew, Dorset

 
 

Monkton Wyld: hamlet with church in oak-wooded hills, 2 miles inland from Charmouth and the fossil-cliffs coast, close to Devon and to the beautiful, richly fertile Marshwood Vale. Pretty Lyme Regis, 4 miles.

Holiday cottages in Monkton Wyld, Dorset

 
 

Sandbanks: sandy beach-lined peninsula at the mouth of Poole's enormous and magnificent natural harbour, thronged with yachts, used by bigger ships also, including ferries to France. Sandbanks, with beach shops, pub, cafes and restaurants, is reckoned among the south coast's top sea bathing places and is excellent for windsurfing and sailing (still unspoilt creeks to explore); bikes and boats for hire. Ferries cross the harbour to Purbeck (more miles of sandy beaches, sand dunes) and pretty Studland via Brownsea Island (Nat. Trust: woods, gardens, bird sanctuary and red squirrels). Poole town was popular with pirates in its early (13th cent.) days, its harbour with smugglers. Its oldest part, behind the quay, is a 'conservation area', mainly Georgian. It has an arts centre and famous pottery, good parks, outstanding gardens (Compton Acres), fine golf course. Bigger resort Bournemouth (good aquarium, IMAX cinema) is its adjoining neighbour. Nearby inland, beautiful Dorset farmland, Corfe Castle (spectacular ruins), the New Forest and Beaulieu with its abbey and vintage cars.

Holiday cottages in Sandbanks, Dorset

 
 

Shaftesbury: attractive, small hilltop town, around a ruined 9th cent. abbey, with stunning views. Thomas Hardy’s ‘Shaston’ in his novels. Gillingham (mainline railway), 6 miles. The south coast at Sandbanks, Poole, Bournemouth, 25-30 miles; fine houses and gardens, including beautiful Stourhead and Kingston Lacy (both Nat.Trust) and Longleat, within easy reach.

Holiday cottages in Shaftesbury, Dorset

 
 

Shillingstone: village (Shop, P.O. Pub, part Norman Church) below the chalk downs on the A357 Blandford Forum to Sherborne road, 4 miles from Blandford Forum (handsome Georgian small town beside the River Stour). On the hilltops - Hambledon and Hod - are Iron Age forts, beech trees, a Yew wood and much wildlife: excellent walking. The sea at Weymouth (resort town, sandy beach) about 28 miles or Lulworth Cove (very beautiful) about 21 miles.

Holiday cottages in Shillingstone, Dorset

 
 

Stour Provost: little Dorset village (church, pub, shop) of old stone houses peaceful in lanes between the rich farming vales of Stour and Blackmore: 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' country. Tremendous views from the wooded top of Duncliffe Hill, 1 mile. Good walking, many footpaths. Shaftesbury, 6 miles; Gillingham (on the railway), 3.5; Stourhead (beautiful gardens with statues round lake), 7.5; Salisbury, 22.

Holiday cottages in Stour Provost, Dorset

 
 

Thorncombe: small pretty village (shop, church) at top of beautiful, rural Marshwood Vale. 5 miles from Chard (small town) and 8 miles inland from the fossil coast and beaches of Charmouth and Lyme Regis. Beautiful Forde Abbey and gardens, 1½ miles. Nearest pub at Hawkchurch, 2 miles.

Holiday cottages in Thorncombe, Dorset

 
 

Whitchurch Canonicorum: small hillside village (fine medieval church, pub, thatched cottages) in the lovely Marshwood Vale with its River Char which winds down to Lyme Bay at Charmouth, 2½ miles away. Lyme Regis (lovely old seaside/harbour town with sandy beach), 4 miles; Bridport, 5½.

Holiday cottages in Whitchurch Canonicorum, Dorset