Starlight Glamping

Spread over 35 acres, Alners Gorse Butterfly Reserve (10 minutes’ drive) sits in what was once a royal forest. Today, the blackthorn and gorse thickets punctuating its grasslands attract large populations of butterflies and moths, plus birds like woodpeckers, nightingales and kestrels. Sherborne Castle & Gardens (15 minutes) was built in the 16th century by none other than Sir Walter Raleigh. In addition to elegant rooms filled with period furniture, artworks and decorative arts, the property is renowned for its grounds, landscaped in the 1700s by Capability Brown. On the western edge of Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the hilltop market town of Shaftesbury (25 minutes) has far-reaching views of the Blackmore Vale. You can pretend to be in a famed bread commercial on cobbled Gold Hill lane, visit the remains of an abbey destroyed by Henry VIII, and stroll through streets lined with independent shops and restaurants.