20 Attractions to Explore Near Cerne Abbas Giant

Hardy's Cottage is a beautiful secluded place to visit if you are following the Thomas Hardy Trail through Dorset. The cottage stands at the top of the hill off Cuckoo Lane in Higher Bockhampton and behind it stretches Egdon Heath, which Hardy wrote of in 'The Return of the Native'. The super cosy home will charm you with its antique decor and authentic north Indian cuisine among other features.

The Keep is the Military Museum of Devon and Dorset. Housed in an extraordinary castle-like building, the collection spans 300 years of history over 4 floors. You can walk through a World War One trench, try on uniforms and discover the amazing stories behind the Museum objects, at the end of your visit don’t forget to go onto the roof for amazing views of Dorchester!

The Dorset County Museum is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset's history and environment. There are video displays, activity carts for children, and an audio guide. The collections include fossilized dinosaur footprints, Roman mosaics, and original Thomas Hardy manuscripts.

The Tutankhamun Exhibition in Dorchester was the first exhibition outside Egypt to feature an exact anatomical recreation of Tutankhamun's mummy. The mummy took over two years of research and experimentation to recreate, following x-rays and measurements of Tutankhamun's mummy. Explore the life of King Tutankhamun, and the storied discovery that captivated the world, through more than 150 authentic pieces from the tomb.

The Dorset Teddy Bear Museum is Dorchester's unmissable family museum, with Edward Bear and his family of people-sized bears, in Teddy Bear House. Meet all the family and enjoy his wonderful collection of teddy bears that can be seen throughout the house. Bears on display include Paddington Bear, Rupert Bear, and Winnie the Pooh. The earliest bear dates from 1906 and there are also life-sized bears.

Max Gate was the house which Thomas Hardy designed and his father and brother built, between 1883 and 1885. Contains several pieces of Hardy's furniture. Here he wrote Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Jude the Obscure and The Mayor of Casterbridge. Visitors to the house can view the hall, dining room, drawing room and garden as well as the room where Hardy wrote his most provocative novel.

One of the largest and most complex Iron Age hillforts in Europe. Its huge multiple ramparts, mostly built in the 1st century BC, once protected hundreds of residents. When it was first built, the gleaming white chalk ramparts would have towered over the surrounding landscape. It is situated just 2 miles south of Dorchester in Dorset. It is truly an amazing place: even after more than 2000 years, the earthworks are immense, some ramparts rising to a height of 6 meters.

Sherborne Abbey is a Church of England church in Sherborne in the English county of Dorset. It has been a Saxon cathedral (705–1075), a Benedictine abbey church (998–1539), and since 1539, a parish church. It is one of the county's finest medieval buildings. The first church here was established in the 8th century as part of a Saxon abbey. Of that Saxon building little remains beyond a doorway. It was one of the main religious buildings and also a tourist attraction too.

Sherborne Old Castle is a romantic 12th-century ruin set in beautiful grounds next to New Sherborne Castle. it has a long and chequered history and became a powerful Royalist base during the Civil War. The castle grounds are a haven for wildlife and birds and it is an ideal spot for a picnic.

The Yeovil Railway Centre is a small railway museum at Yeovil Junction on the L&SWR West of England Main Line between Salisbury and Exeter in the U.K. It was created in 1993, in response to British Rail's decision to remove the turntable from Yeovil Junction. Approximately ¼ mile of track along the Clifton Maybank spur is used for demonstration trains.

Mapperton is a glorious sandstone manor house and romantic valley garden deep in a lost Dorset combe among tumbling hills and unspoiled countryside. It hosts several events each year, including charity plant fairs, classical concerts, easter trails, creepy crawly shows, food shows and halloween fun days. The house is open by guided tour only, which run at set times each day.

Yeovil Country Park is a 127 acre countryside site that wraps itself around the southern and eastern sides of the busy market towns of Yeovil. The Country Park is comprised of five main areas all of which have very different characteristics and land features. Explore these beautiful areas and discover lakes, meadows, woodland, rose gardens, wildlife and much more.

Ninesprings is a country park situated in the South East of Yeovil, Somerset, the United Kingdom. It is the largest country park in South Somerset, spanning over 20 acres. is believed to have been developed as an ornamental park, for the Aldon Estate, in the early nineteenth century and now forms a broad-leaved woodland with coniferous trees forming less than 10% of the total.

This tiny isolated cottage situated on the slopes of Clouds Hill above Bovington Camp was the peaceful retreat of T.E. Lawrence (‘Lawrence of Arabia’) when he re-joined the RAF in 1925. It was, in fact, a 'pied a terre' used by Lawrence as a quiet retreat to write and entertain guests while he was stationed at the nearby army base at Bovington.

Magnificent Victorian walled garden set in 20 acres of the woodland valley. It was probably one of the best gardens of its type in the world. Winner of the silver medal at Chelsea and silver-gilt at Hampton Court Show. The gardens are in a wooded and sheltered valley, leading down towards the sea at Chesil Beach; this combination produces a microclimate in which more delicate plants than are usually grown in southern England can flourish, and plants that would otherwise need greenhouses can be

Abbotsbury Swannery is the only place in the world where you are able to walk through the heart of a colony of nesting Mute Swans. Visitors to the Swannery can help hand feed over 600 swans at 12.00 noon and 4.00pm daily, which is an experience not to be missed. The accompanying talk from the swanherd provides an enaging and informative insight into these graceful birds.

Bowleaze Cove is a sand and pebble beach just over two miles northeast from Weymouth. In summer the beach is popular with families as well as jet-ski enthusiasts and the water is zoned for the safety of bathers. Children might enjoy paddling in the shallow waters of the cove or in the River Jordan which enters the sea at the beach. A short pier leading out from the beach makes a good spot for fishing and the views towards Portland on a clear evening are quite spectacular.

Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park offers you an amazing underwater world and takes a fascinating journey to the ocean depths. Meet the world’s smallest penguins in their new interactive Fairy Penguin Island walk-through adventure. It aims to combine modern display technology, biological expertise, and entertainment to provide themed journeys through European and tropical waters.

Greenhill is a suburb to the northeast of Weymouth in Dorset, England, with a sand and shingle beach. Most of the beach is pebbles rather than sand but on the shoreline between tides, there’s plenty of sand for the sandcastle building. The entire beach is bordered by a pleasant promenade, take a lookout for the renovated Victorian lamp stands these were originally the lighting on the main Esplanade.

Bennetts Water Gardens is a visitor attraction in Dorset. Set over 8 acres the gardens hold the National Plant Collection® of Water Lilies with a Claude Monet style Japanese Bridge, Tropical House, Woodland Walks, and Museum. The gardens hold the National Plant Collection© of Water Lilies with a Monet-style Bridge as the centerpiece. If you have never seen over 140 different varieties of water lilies producing thousands of flowers spread across acres of water.