Holiday Cottages Dorset

Here's what you can see and do when staying at one of our holiday cottages in Dorset.

Dorset is a gem of a county encompassing all that is best in rural England - rolling green hills, gorse-filled heaths, traditional Dorset cottages, woodland and hedgerows running down to the one of the finest coastlines in England, including a World Heritage Site. The unspoiled coastline is ever changing over its 90 miles which take in dramatic cliff-top walks, safe beaches and seaside resorts with charming Dorset coastal cottages.

Starting in the east with the natural harbour of Christchurch and the fascinating Mudeford Spit the coast passes through Bournemouth, one of the country's most popular resorts to Poole and one of the largest natural harbours in the world where Brownsea Island's famous for its red squirrel sanctuary and as the birthplace of the Scouting movement. Onto Purbeck Island - in reality a peninsula guarded by the spectacular ruins of Corfe Castle - the fabulous beaches of Studland Bay looking over to Old Harry's Rock and the resort of Swanage. Further along the Dorset coast is Lulworth Cove, almost encircled by tall cliffs and a short cliff-top walk to Durdle Door, a natural chalk arch. Weymouth is a mix of seaside resort and fishing port, beyond which lies the remarkable Chesil Bank, a unique shingle beach that stretches 15 miles from Weymouth to Bridport. The pretty town of Lyme Regis is known as the Pearl of Dorset probably best known for The Cobb, a long harbour wall full of character and history. This stretch of the coast is so rich in fossils that it has become known as the Jurassic Coast, with beaches offering excellent fossil-hunting opportunities whilst holidaying in one of our Dorset coastal cottages.

Dorset's pastoral charm was immortalised by Thomas Hardy, who set his novels there. He turned the county's unremarkable capital Dorchester - close to where he was born - into Casterbridge, and thousands of visitors come here each year to see the real-life locations of Far from the Madding Crowd, Jude the Obscure and The Mayor of Casterbridge. Shaftesbury is one of England’s most scenically located and charming historic market towns, made famous by the Hovis advert that featured Gold Hill - the steep cobbled street lined with its unique thatched and tiled Dorset cottages. Few other towns in Britain have such a wealth of unspoilt medieval buildings as Sherbourne. The twin towers of the magnificent Minster dominate the market town of Wimbourne Minster and at Cerne Abbas are the ruins of an abbey and the infamous Giant, a 180-foot rather nude male etched into the chalk. From our selection of holiday cottages in Dorset all these attractions await your exploration.

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