Our Local Area
Our Local Area
We are so fortunate to be surrounded by beautiful countryside, to have the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site nearby plus pre-historic, historic and family friendly attractions. Too numerous to list here all Dorset has to offer but locally to Tolpuddle, a selection of places to explore is listed below for those new to Dorset and those knowing it well. We hope you enjoy.
Walking:
Tolpuddle is surrounded by footpaths and the long distance Jubilee Way and Hardy Way pass nearby.
We are grateful to Dave Wilkinson and Lynne Bailey for describing six local walks from Tolpuddle - developed for the Tolpuddle Phone Box - they are attached here for you to download.
Cycling:
The North Dorset Trailway is a walking and cycling path that runs along a dismantled railway line from Spetisbury to Sturminster Newton via Blandford. It passes through wonderful scenery with regular views of the River Stour.
Coastal:
Lulworth Cove
Durdle Door
Beautiful coastal walks, of course, along the SW Coast path
Beaches and fabulous scenery – try Kimmeridge for fossils and crabbing at low tide
Weymouth – a traditional seaside town with a family friendly, safe, sandy beach offering donkey rides, Punch and Judy, carousels and paddleboats to list just a few. Plus a beautiful old harbour, cafes and restaurants.
Swanage
Studland Beaches
Historic:
National Trust properties:
Hardy’s Cottage and Max Gate (Thomas Hardy’s birthplace and house in later life) and
Clouds Hill (TE Lawrence – Lawrence of Arabia’s rural hideaway retreat) are all nearby.
A bit further afield, near Wimborne, is Kingston Lacy and at Corfe, Corfe Castle.
Athelhampton: a beautiful Tudor manor house over 500 years old with Elizabethan style gardens and restaurant is just a 5 minute drive away or a 1.75m walk (see walk 6 above).
Shire Hall in Dorchester (15 minute drive) is the historic court room where the Tolpuddle Martyrs were tried and sentenced to transportation. The court room remains as it was at that time and the cells where the Martyrs were held can be visited.
Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum where you will find a village trail detailing the history of the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Maiden Castle: just outside Dorchester mustn’t be missed. It began as a Neolithic enclosure over 6,000 years ago and became one of the largest and most complex Iron Age hillforts in Europe – one of many in Dorset. Its huge multiple ramparts enclose an area the size of fifty football pitches. Now under the protection of English Heritage.
Towns:
Dorchester, Dorset’s county town, offers shops, restaurants, cafes, museums, cinemas, the wonderful Borough Gardens with a well equipped playground for younger children, Roman Town House, historic water meadows and a weekly Wednesday market.
Blandford Forum: a beautiful and most complete small Georgian town in England. With important Roman origins and still retaining the name Forum, Blandford was situated on the Roman Road from Winchester to Dorchester to Exeter. The course of which, as a matter of interest, runs through the centre of Tolpuddle diagonally NE to SW - no visual evidence remaining.
Family Attractions:
Farmer Palmers Farm Park
Upton Country Park
Durlston Country Park
Visit Dorset Website: