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Retire2 Dorset
Dorset is one of Britain 's smallest counties but is held in special affection by many who have never been there because of the richness of its history, culture and landscape.
There can be few who don't know of Maiden Castle , where the Celts fought a fruitless battle against the roman invaders, or the pre-Christian Cerne Abbas Giant. Its pretty, quaintly-named villages and beautiful coves are staples of the calendar industry; schoolchildren learn of the marvellous finds of fossil hunter Mary Anning and the tribulations of the Tolpuddle Martyrs while the works of Thomas Hardy have made familiar its lush, rural landscape and market towns.
Small, attractive and popular usually add up to pricey and if you want chocolate box-by-sea, then of course, it is. But there are still homes to be had at a reasonable price and being the size it is Dorset 's multiple attractions are never far away.
Poole Harbour is the largest natural harbour in Europe and its sheltered waters have become one of the top places in Britain to learn watersports. But it is also an international watersports competition venue which hosts the annual Animal Windfest... more
Known in ancient times as the Isle of Purbeck it is a name that's still used today. It's not a true isle but bounded by the sea to the East and south, by the River Frome to the north and with only a hilly neck of land connecting it to the mainland... more
Weymouth has a bustle and energy which befits a town that has had to re-invent itself over the centuries to survive. It was once two towns on opposite sides of the River Wey. They both prospered from the wool trade and were able to match Bristol i... more
West Dorset curves around Lyme Bay from the weather-worn profile of Portland Bill to the tumbling lanes of Lyme Regis. Behind this vast amphitheatre, clay and sandstone cliffs rise and fall into gentle downlands, concealing ancient farmsteads, sle... more
This is quintessential Dorset, the Dorset of tiny, chocolate-box villages,and sleepy market towns, of 'piddle' and 'puddle' and of the Cerne Giant. There've been settlements in the Cerne Valley for at least 1,400 years because that was when St. A... more
