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The Roman Town House. Also a relic from the 4th C the walls of this Roman home are remarkably
well preserved. The floor mosaics are a fascinating insight into the way of life 1600 years ago.
Free.

Maumbury Rings. Originally a late Neolithic Henge, dating from around 2500 BCE, later modified
by the Romans to create an amphitheatre and finally again reworked into an artillery fort used to
protect the southern flank of the town in the English Civil Ware in 1642/43. Next to Dorchester
Police station and opposite the Skate Park. Free.

Other attractions include the Dorset County Museum and The Keep Military Museum and The
Dinosaur Museum.

Useful local information website . . .

Honiton For notes see Exeter to Salisbury Direct.

Off course

Abbotsbury. GPS 59.6582 / -2.6006. Picturesque village of stone walled, thatched roofed houses.

The Abbotsbury Abbey thatched Tithe Barn is the largest of its kind in the world – 272 ft long and
31 ft high. It was part of Abbotsbury Abbey founded in the 11th C but later destroyed during the
Dissolution under Henry VIII.

The Abotsbury Swannery This is the only place in the world
where you are able to walk through the heart of a colony of
nesting Mute Swans – considered one of the best things to do in
Dorset. The Swannery was established by Benedictine Monks
who built a monastery at Abbotsbury during the 1040’s. The
monks farmed the swans to produce food for their lavish Dorset
banquets.

The Abotsbury Sub-tropical Garden. Established in 1765 by the first Countess of Ilchester as a
kitchen garden for her nearby castle. Developed since then into a magnificent 20 acre garden filled
with rare and exotic plants from all over the world. Many of these plants were first introductions to
this country, discovered by the plant hunting descendants of the Countess. Winner of the HHA /
Christies Garden Of The Year in 2012.

Chesil Beach is an 18 mile/28 km long blue-clay reef covered in a wall of pebbles up to 35 ft high
and 160 yards wide. It was created by stormy seas and powerful currents shifting rock from the
Devon and Dorset coasts. The pebbles are smallest at the Abbotsbury end and increase to fist
size by the time they reach the eastern end. Chesil is Old English for “shingle”.

Weymouth. The Jurassic Skyline, a 53m (174ft) tower offers unrivalled views of this breathtaking
natural phenomenon.

With floor to ceiling windows, the viewing capsule slowly rotates a full 360 degrees offering
uninterrupted panoramic views up to 26 km away. The gondola performs two full rotations at a
relaxed pace, so you’ll have plenty of time to take photos!

The Black Death arrives. It was in June 1348 that a ship bearing a Plague-stricken passenger from
Gascony docked in the town. Taken to one of the nearby cottages on the harbour side the man
soon died, and before long, every resident along the street in the neighbouring cottages
succumbed to the same fate. Named Hell Lane the street was renamed in the nineteenth century