The county town
of Dorset, Dorchester is a market town with a rich and varied history. The Casterbridge
of Thomas Hardy novels, Dorchester has many places of interest to visit,
including museums, attractions and the nearby hill-top earthworks at Maiden
Castle.
You'll find a good number of quality hotels, bed and breakfasts and Guest houses in Dorchester along with a selection of self catering holiday cottages. Just out of town you'll find a number of pleasant rural camping and caravan sites and holiday parks featuring luxury mobile homes and lodges.
Its market, which is held every Wednesday, is a focal point for many of
the communities that surround the town. The main shopping
area is South Street where you will find a mixture of local businesses rubbing
shoulders with national chains.
Dorchester is home to the Dorset County Museum which has fine displays of
local history; The Dinosaur Museum; Teddy Bear House and The Tutankhamun
Exhibition. At the top of town you will find the impressive 'Keep', built
in 1879 it now houses the Dorset Military Museum. Facing the nearby roundabout
is a statue of Thomas Hardy which was unveiled by Hardy's great friend,
Sir James Barrie, on 2nd September 1931. Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) went to
school in Dorchester and lived at Max Gate and although his ashes are buried
at Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey his heart is buried at Stinsford,
near Dorchester.
Dorchester has it's roots deep in Roman history with many exhibits to be seen in the County Museum, but to get a feel for the real thing take a walk around Maumbury Rings, the town's Roman Ampitheatre or a look at the well preserved excavations of a Roman Town House in the grounds of County Hall. Just out of town en route for Weymouth you'll find the famous Iron Age Hill Fort, Maiden Castle a great place for a bracing afternoon stroll.
With its fascinating history and location in one of the finest parts of
Dorset, Dorchester has a blend of modern and old with shopping outlets to
suit most tastes and pockets, it's well worth a visit.
Although slightly inland Dorchester is a great base from which to explore Dorset's Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
To open a large version of the map in a new window and plan a journey to Dorchester click here.
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