A Kaleidoscope of Coast & Country in Dorset

Check in to our hotel in the afternoon. Later, we enjoy a welcome drink reception hosted by our tour manager.

For our first visit we make our way to Lulworth Castle, set at the heart of a large country estate in the south Dorset countryside. Built in the early 17^th century as a hunting lodge, the castle boasts a rich history: it was seized by the Roundheads during the English Civil War and was used as a residence-in-exile for the surviving members of the French Royal Family following the French Revolution. The castle was gutted by a disastrous fire in 1929 but has been completely restored, returning the exterior to its former glory and revealing the many stories of its past inside. We learn more during an introductory talk, followed by plenty of time to explore and enjoy an indulgent cream tea.

Our next stop takes us to lovely Athelhampton for a tour of Athelhampton House, referred to as one of England’s ‘most important medieval manor houses’. The site of Athelhampton House has been populated since the Saxon era and is even mentioned in the Domesday Book, where it is known as ‘Pidele’, meaning there is a wealth of history to uncover during our guided tour, complete with a sandwich lunch.

Today, we start our day with a visit to Dorset’s oldest inhabited house, Moignes Court, the home of the Cree family since the 1820s. This deceptively modest 12^th-century manor house in the village of Owermoigne is an impressive example of medieval architecture, with only a small number of alterations made to the structure due to a fire in 1880. There are many historical highlights for us to discover during our visit, including a collection of 13^th-century windows, a first-floor courtroom and even a moat! The medieval grounds are still exquisitely well-preserved and have been repurposed by the current owners of a wild living initiative, providing charming holiday accommodation and education spaces for members of the community and beyond. A light lunch will also be enjoyed at Moignes Court.

Next, we enjoy a guided tour of Sherborne Castle, built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594. A family home since 1617, a visit here is like strolling through four centuries of different decorative styles, featuring nationally significant collections of furniture, paintings and porcelain. We learn all about its Tudor heritage, how George III visited with The Queen and the three Princesses in 1789 and its use as a hospital during the First World War. Outside is a beautiful example of a quintessentially English landscape garden and was one of Capability Brown's first commissions, which survives largely unaltered today.

We travel to the parish of Mapperton for a guided tour of Mapperton House, owned by the Countess of Sandwich. With its meticulous gardens and eagle-topped pillars that flank the pathway to the entrance, first impressions of this historic treasure can’t help but make you feel as though you’ve been pulled into the pages of a romance novel. Called ‘the nation’s finest manor house’ by Country Life Magazine, the Grade I listed house dates back to the 11^th century and has been built upon extensively throughout the centuries, with many of the features on display today having been established during the house’s reconstruction in the second half of the 16^th century. We'll also enjoy an introduction to the gardens from the estate's head gardener.

Lying on the Jurassic Coast, surrounded by green fields and spectacular scenery, the Grade I-listed Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens is a fascinating highlight of the county, whose legacy stretches back to its founding in the middle of the 18^th century. Thanks to the microclimate afforded to the property by the surrounding woodland valley, there is a great variety of rare and exotic plant species on display here, all of which are maintained without the use of greenhouses, which would normally be required for plants of this kind. We take a special look through this delightful collection and the Swannery. From the local camellia groves and rhododendrons to the formal and informal gardens and the specially curated climate zones that exhibit specimens from different topographical environments within a few steps of one another, there’s no shortage of botanical wonders to discover on our guided tour.

After breakfast, check out of the hotel for the journey home.