Central Dorset Accommodation

  • Maiden Castle is the country's largest Iron Age hillfortMaiden Castle is the country's largest Iron Age hillfort
  • The ramparts are huge and have lasted for centuriesThe ramparts are huge and have lasted for centuries
  • Hard to believe this is all over 3000 years old!Hard to believe this is all over 3000 years old!
  • Fantastic views over to Dorchester from Maiden CastleFantastic views over to Dorchester from Maiden Castle
  • The beautiful thatched cob cottage where Thomas Hardy was bornThe beautiful thatched cob cottage where Thomas Hardy was born

Central West Dorset Tourist Information

Around Dorchester, Dorset's County town, are several attractions and beautiful lush countryside.

Just to the south west of Dorchester is the largest Iron Age Hillfort at Maiden Castle. All around Dorchester are several places and villages associated with the writer and poet, Thomas Hardy.

Featured Dorset Accommodation

The Sherborne Hotel - Sherborne

Dorset Hotel in Sherborne. Extensive grounds, superior suites available. Restaurant & licensed bar. Weddings venue, conference & meeting rooms available

£20 to £35 Per person B&B (2 sharing)

Maiden Castle Iron Age Hillfort

Maiden Castle lies two miles south of Dorchester town centre. It is the largest hill fort in England covering forty five acres and is also the most complex. The hill was believed to have been first occupied over 3000 years ago, but it wasn't until the Iron Age that the fortifications began to be constructed and it is this legacy we can still clearly see today. The huge chalk ramparts follow the contours of the hill and some are six feet high! At one time the ramparts contained a huddle of roundhouses and a road network making it an important regional centre. However, its vast fortifications finally fell to the Romans in 43 AD.

The local inhabitants were moved to the nearby Roman town of Dunovaria which became Dorchester. At some time later a temple was constructed at the northeast end of the hill. This contained a shrine and two roomed house and was in use until the end of the Roman occupation in 410AD. You can still see its outline today.

Many archaeological finds have been excavated from the hillfort and surrounding land, a good selection of which are on display at Dorchester County Museum. Archaeologists also found an Iron Age cemetery in which burials yielded evidence of the brutal injuries suffered by the local population at the hands of the Romans.

To get to Maiden Castle follow the signposts from Dorchester on the A354. Check the links right for photos and more information on Maiden Castle.

Higher Bockhampton, Thomas Hardy's Birthplace, Hardy's Cottage

Higher Bockhampton is famous for being the birthplace of Dorset's most famous author, Thomas Hardy. It is just a small hamlet surrounded by woodland and countryside to the east of Dorchester.

The cottage where he was born has been preserved pretty much as it was when he lived here as a child. It's beautiful cottage garden is what everyone imagines when they think of English gardens and the walk through the neighbouring woods make for a pleasant day out.

Stinsford Hardy's Burial Place, St Michael's Church

Stinsford is a rural parish north east of Dorchester. It's a rural parish and includes several villages and hamlets including Lower and Higher Bockhampton, Stinsford and Higher Kingston.

Stinsford is most famous for its associations with Thomas Hardy who used the church in "Under the Greenwood Tree" and featured Stinsford as "Mellstock" in his writing.

Featured Dorset Accommodation

The Sherborne Hotel - Sherborne

Dorset Hotel in Sherborne. Extensive grounds, superior suites available. Restaurant & licensed bar. Weddings venue, conference & meeting rooms available

£20 to £35 Per person B&B (2 sharing)