Dorset Places - Midlands Farm Holiday Cottages

PLACES NEARBY

West Bay Beach looking west towards Golden Cap along the Jurassic Coast

So Many Places to Explore in West Dorset

THE WEST DORSET AREA

West Dorset is Thomas Hardy country. There are hamstone villages nestled away in the hills and valleys throughout the area for you to explore as well as the nearby market towns of Bridport, Lyme Regis and Dorchester.

Walk to These ...

CHIDEOCK

For a village of some 500 registered voters we do very well indeed. It’s a thriving place with three pubs, a well-stocked shop with post office, a fruit and veg wholesaler, artisan mushrooms and a Japanese chef catering for small parties. There is also a farm shop a short distance away in Morcombelake.

SEATOWN

Our nearest beach is a fifteen-minute walk down Mill Lane. There is a pub right next to the beach, The Anchor Inn, which serves food all day. The cliff terrace is the best place to relax and watch the sunset over Lyme Bay. To the west along the beach is Golden Cap, which is the highest point on the south coast and to the east is Thorncombe Beacon.

A Short Drive to the West ...

LYME REGIS

The Cobb harbour in Lyme is the oldest man-made harbour in the country and has featured in a number of major films, including The French Lieutenant’s Woman with Meryl Streep, and more recently Ammonite, filmed in 2019 and starring Kate Winslet as Mary Anning who was born in Lyme Regis and is renowned for making some of the most important fossil discoveries that contributed to the early understanding of evolution.

A Short Drive to the East ...

BRIDPORT

Our nearest town, which offers a buzzing street market on Saturday and Wednesday, a quirky antique quarter, great independent shops and numerous places to eat and drink. There’s a good music scene in the town and two venues that also offer comedy, film, live theatre screenings and more.

west bay

Made famous by Harbour Lights, Gulliver’s Travels, Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess of the D’Urbevilles, and more recently Broadchurch. There is an array of kiosks surrounding the busy harbour as well as other places to eat and drink and simply watch the world go by. The beach is in walking distance too.

DORCHESTER

The former county town of Dorset it sits on the banks of the River Frome. On Wednesday there is the largest market in the county, which has been running since 1860. There is The Keep Military Museum to visit and the Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum with its role in the deportation of the Tolpuddle Martyrs and that sparked the Trade Union movement in England.

SYMONDSBURY

A good 40 minute walk from the cottages but worth it. You can walk up the famous Colmers Hill to see the beautiful views, visit The Ilchester Arms for lunch or a drink , or visit the Symondsbury Estate Café for tea and cake or light lunch

NEAR TO HOME

There are small villages dotted around West Dorset for you to discover – Charmouth, Whitchurch Canonicorum, Stoke Abbot, Powerstock, Netherbury – and all are within easy reach by foot, bike or car.

FURTHER AFIELD

Heading east along the coast road above Chesil Beach and The Fleet there is the tythe barn and Swannery in Abbotsbury. Go a bit further and there is the naval town of Weymouth, which hosted the sailing for the 2012 Olympics and boasts the longest uninterrupted Georgian seafront in the country. A causeway joins Weymouth to Portland Bill.

Beyond Weymouth there are the Purbeck Hills with the world famous Lulworth Cove and the natural arch in the sea that is Durdle Door.