West Dorset

Gray's Farmhouse B & B is centrally placed for visiting some of the most attractive and interesting towns of West Dorset: Bridport & West Bay , Beaminster ,  Dorchester, Sherborne .

We are surrounded by unspoilt villages and hamlets set in hidden valleys or nestling below Eggaron Hill: Nettlecombe and Powerstock, North and South Poorton, West Milton and Loscombe, Loders and Uploders .

Hardy's birthplace at Bockhampton and the house he built at Max Gate can also be visited. When Tess walked to visit Angel's parents it was to Emminster (Beaminster) that she came.

There are famous gardens to visit and magnificent houses : Mapperton , Forde Abbey, Montecute and Athelhampton, gardens at Abbotsbury and Minterne Magna.

On the Jurassic Coast within easy reach are Portland, Weymouth, The Chesil beach, Abbotsbury, Burton Bradstock, West Bay, Seatown, Golden Cap, Charmouth, Lyme Regis.

As well as the South-West coastal path, there is glorious walking from the doorstep with a maze of footpaths connecting onto the Jubillee Trail and The Wessex Ridgeway .

From our garden can be seen Eggardon Hill Fort , and the whole area  is rich in hill forts and earthworks, from the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Romans and the Normans.

The Long Distance Walkers Association has a list of local trails. See also:

Walks on Wednesday mornings Walks for Softies & Walking in Dorset

Walks in Dorset are mostly longer.     

 Abbotsbury    Bockhampton  Beaminster  Bridport & West Bay   Burton Bradstock