Dorset is a scenic and historic English county famed for its Jurassic Coast, market towns, cultural festivals, and literary heritage, offering diverse landscapes and accessible transport.
Mompesson House is an 18th-century Queen Anne style historic house in Salisbury, Wiltshire, owned by the National Trust. Visitors can explore its carefully restored Georgian interiors and collections of 18th-century decorative arts. The house was also a filming location for the movie Sense and Sensibility.
9–13 Oct, 16–20 Oct…
Explore Mompesson House dressed to reflect the Portman family’s time there and learn about Regency life and the family’s social calendar. Visitors can see a Regency parlour and children’s playroom, take part in activities, and follow a spotter trail around the house.
White Mill is an 18th-century water-powered corn mill near Sturminster Marshall in Dorset, featuring original milling machinery and historic architecture, preserved as a Grade II listed building and managed by the National Trust.
7 Oct–8 Nov (another 30 days)
Explore 30 Pikachu trading cards illustrated by different artists, discover facts about the character and design your own Pikachu card as part of an art adventure at Kingston Lacy.
Treasurer's House in Martock, Somerset, is a Grade I listed medieval house dating from the 13th century and owned by the National Trust. It features historic architecture including a great hall with a timber roof and medieval wall paintings, offering visitors an indoor historical experience.
Priest's House in Muchelney is a Grade I listed historic stone house built in the early 14th century for the parish priest. Owned by the National Trust, it showcases original medieval architecture including Gothic doorways and a 15th-century fireplace, with limited public access.
Fiddleford Manor is a medieval manor house in Dorset dating back to around 1370, featuring original interiors and restored by English Heritage, open to public visits throughout the year.
Stembridge Tower Mill in Somerset is the last thatched windmill in England, built in 1822. It features four floors, retains historic millstones, and is a Grade II* listed building managed by the National Trust, offering visitors a glimpse into historic milling indoors.
Barrington Court is a Tudor manor house in Somerset, combining historic architecture with Arts and Crafts-style gardens originally designed by Gertrude Jekyll. Visitors can explore the historic house, converted stable buildings, and extensive ornamental gardens including a kitchen garden supplying the onsite restaurant.
Montacute House is a late Elizabethan mansion in Somerset, England, known for its exceptional Renaissance architecture and the longest surviving Long Gallery in England. The venue offers both indoor experiences in its historic rooms and exhibitions, and outdoor experiences with its Grade I listed gardens and extensive parkland. It hosts historical portraits in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery and has served as a filming location for films and TV dramas.
Max Gate is a Grade I listed historic house in Dorchester, Dorset, designed and built by Thomas Hardy, showcasing Queen Anne style architecture, and open to public visits with access to multiple rooms including studies and bedrooms associated with Hardy's life and works.
Dorchester is the historic county town of Dorset, England, known for its Roman origins, literary connections with Thomas Hardy, and rich cultural and archaeological heritage. It offers a walkable town centre with notable museums, theatres, and a vibrant market town atmosphere.
Muchelney Abbey is a historic English Heritage site featuring the ruins of a medieval Benedictine abbey and an intact Tudor Abbot's House, set on the island-like Somerset Levels. Visitors can explore foundational ruins outdoors and the architectural interiors of the Abbot's House indoors, experiencing a significant religious and architectural heritage spanning from the 7th to 16th centuries.
Stoke sub Hamdon Priory is a historic 14th-century chantry college complex in Somerset featuring a Grade I listed great hall, medieval architecture, and ruins of outbuildings. Owned by the National Trust, it offers visitors a glimpse into medieval religious and farming life with indoor historic buildings and outdoor heritage site elements.
Clouds Hill is an early 19th-century isolated cottage in Dorset that was the home of T. E. Lawrence, now a museum preserving his original furniture and an exhibition about his life. It offers visitors an intimate look into the life of Lawrence of Arabia within a historic Grade II* listed building.
Kingston Lacy is a historic 17th-century Italianate country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, featuring extensive formal gardens, parkland, and a significant fine art collection. The house offers a blend of indoor tours with finely decorated interiors and outdoor exploration of its historic gardens and grounds.
6–23 Oct (another 14 days)
Explore the Visakhapatnam cabinet through an exhibition about its craftsmanship, conservation and cultural connections between India and Europe. The display includes related objects, a contemporary painting and a dress inspired by the cabinet, with sections of the painting also installed in the garden.