Glamping at New Court Farm by PitchingIt

Walkers and cyclists, there’s excellent hiking and biking in the area, including the Hardy Way, which leads to Thomas Hardy-centric attractions like his birthplace at Hardy’s Cottage (half an hour’s drive) and Stinsford Church (25 minutes), where his heart is buried. The long-distance Wessex Ridgeway also passes close (15 minutes) as it heads to the sea at Lyme Regis (50 minutes). Dorset is good for time travellers too. Stretch your legs on a walk up to the famed Cerne Abbas Cerne Giant Giant (15 minutes) straddling his chalk hill since Saxon times, or the sprawling Iron Age hill fort at Maiden Castle (half an hour). There are mosaic fragments in Dorchester’s Roman Town House (20 minutes), and a schedule of summer concerts and reenactments at Jacobean-era Lulworth Castle (50 minutes). Head to horseshoe-shaped Lulworth Cove (45 minutes) for a dip in the sea, and the shingle at Chesil Beach (35 minutes) for bracing walks along the English Channel. Visit Bowleaze Cove (half an hour) on the rugged Jurassic Coast for fish and chips with sea views, or whizz into Weymouth (35 minutes) to laze on its sandy beach and see penguins at play at the SEA LIFE Centre Weymouth.