Wessex Ridgeway, South - Dorchester
Dorchester, our base for the southern half of the Wessex Ridgeway, is the county town of Dorset. Dorchester was an important town (Durnovaria) in Roman times, continued to thrive as a Saxon Mint during the 10th century, and became a Roundhead stronghold during the English Civil War. Much of the town was destroyed by fire in the 17th and 18th centuries and most of the buildings visible today date from Georgian times.
Dorchester played a major part in the Monmouthshire Rebellion and many of those arrested were executed in the town following the ‘Bloody Assize’ which was presided over by ‘Hanging’ Judge Jeffreys and held in a room at the rear of what is now the Antelope Hotel.
In 1834 the six ‘Tolpuddle Martyrs’ who started the Trade-Union movement in England were tried in the Old Crown Court in Dorchester and sentenced to seven years transportation.
Maiden Castle, a large Iron Age hillfort is situated three miles outside the town.
Dorchester stands at the heart of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex and featured as Casterbridge in his famous novel The Mayor of Casterbridge. Hardy’s birthplace at Higher Bockhampton is situated a couple of miles outside the town and his heart is buried in the churchyard at the nearby village of Stinsford.
Dorchester has a good range of shops, cafes and pubs offering food in the evenings.
The daily meeting point in Dorchester is outside the County Museum in High West Street.
Accommodation
There is a wide variety of accommodation in Dorchester and details can be found on the following websites:
- http://www.visitbritain.com/uk/search/accommodation.htm
- http://www.westcountrynow.com/main/accommodation/list.cfm
- http://www.caravanclub.co.uk
- http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk
- http://www.westdorset.com/index.cfm
- http://www.holidays-breaks.com /public/view.php?town=Dorchester
Alternatively, an accommodation guide can be obtained from the Tourist Information Centre in Dorchester, whose contact details are as follows:
Tourist Information Centre,
Antelope Walk,
Dorchester,
Dorset, DT1 1BE
Tel; 01305 267992
Fax; 01305 266079
E.Mail: dorchester.tic@westdorset-dc.gov.uk
How to reach Dorchester by public transport
Dorchester has two railway station, Dorchester, West on the Bristol-Weymouth line and Dorchester, South on the London-Weymouth line. National Express run a limited coach service to Dorchester.
General information on Dorchester and the surrounding area can be found on the following websites: