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| Mid-Dorset - the Area |
| Local Pubs and Restaurants - advanced booking advisable at weekends, and essential for taxis in this rural area. |
Recently refurbished, a traditional country inn in the middle of Dorset with good food and excellent value. 3 mins by car.
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Having only recently returned to their home county of Dorset, Alex and Nicky are passionate about producing the very best food at accessible prices, as well as extending a warm and friendly welcome to locals and visitors alike.
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Phil and Carol Bennett would like to welcome you to the heart of Plush and the beautiful surrounding countryside of this idyllic Dorset hamlet.
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Plumber Manor, one of the finest country house hotels in Dorset, is the only hotel in the UK that is still owned, and now run as country house hotel, by the same family that built it in the early 1600s.
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An excellent Farm Shop and Garden Centre with an adjacent farm shop and post office. Fresh bread and croissants baked daily! Opposite the Fox Inn.
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| 01305 269696/261010 |
| 0800 413190/01305 269500 (24hrs) |
| 07917 7670776/01305 251097 |
| 07766 881806 |
| 07795 400256 |
| 07854 253964 |
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The Dorset Gap
This former crossroads - once the hub of central Dorset - is a well known beauty spot and a magnet for ramblers, who follow the local bridleways to find the visitors' book in its wooden mail box. The Dorset Gap is on the Higher Melcombe estate - some fifteen to twenty minutes walk from the Manor.
The tracks do not end there, but continue up to the Dorset Downs and the Wessex Ridgeway, with magnificent views and the chance to see buzzards, orchids and butterflies. The track crosses agricultural land, so boots or wellies are essential when the ground is wet. |
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There is a splendid 6 mile circular route through peaceful countryside with a chance for lunch at the Fox Inn at Ansty.
More photos of the area around the Dorset Gap can be found at . |
| The following websites will give you suggestions for walks in North Dorset: |
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Details of Dorset Gap walk from Ramblers Association. |
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Details of stunning walks in Dorset, which has nearly 3000 miles of rights of way, much of it well waymarked and signposted. |
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There is a huge variety of short and middle distance walks around Dorset. Whether you fancy coast or country, woodland or heathland or even a stroll around a town or village - there are plenty of walks for you to explore in Dorset! |
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Find routes and maps for walking trails in North Dorset. |
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This is a splendid route in some of Dorset’s best walking country. Although not as trumpeted as Purbeck or West Dorset, the downs along the southern edge of the Blackmore Vale offer a landscape of impressive hills, open views and majestic woods. |
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At one time, one of the most remote inns in the county, there can be hardly anybody in Dorset who hasn't heard of The Fox at Ansty, even if they haven't actually been there. Now's your chance, not only to visit The Fox, but to enjoy a wonderful walk to the mysterious Dorset Gap. |
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Download and Print Dorchester walks. |
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Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site
Higher Melcombe Manor is only 20 miles - some 40 minutes drive - from Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, in the middle of the Dorset stretch of the Jurassic Coast. Fishing boats, restaurants and more walks, certainly, but good beaches too - and plenty of sailing: Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy is the official venue for the Olympic Sailing events in 2012. You can book with us now...
West of Dorchester the county opens up into yet more magnificent countryside and coast - the 18 mile long Chesil Beach protecting the Fleet Lagoon, Abbotsbury with its Swannery, the historic market town of Bridport...
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| Hardy's Cottage |
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Thomas Hardy's Cottage is just outside Dorchester and a 30 minute drive from Higher Melcombe.
Hardy was born in this small thatched cottage in 1840, which stands at the top of the hill off Cuckoo Lane in Higher Bockhampton. Behind the secluded cottage with its flourishing old cottage garden stretches Egdon Heath, which Hardy wrote of in 'The Return of the Native'.
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| Useful Links |
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| - travel and tourism website covering central and north Dorset. |
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| - wonderful database of Dorset images |
- on-line guide to this bustling Georgian seaside town. |
| - Dorset County Council lists of places to visit and attractions |
- 'Things to do in West Dorset'. |
| - '18 miles and 180 billion pebbles... ' |
- general tourism site for Dorset. |
If you are looking for other types of accommodation please try Dorchester Hotels |
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