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Generations of English schoolboys have enjoyed belting out the hymn 'Jerusalem', which ends with the rousing reference to 'England's green and pleasant land.' Those lyrics were penned by one of England's great eccentrics, William Blake, but there's no doubting that the author struck a chord with millions of his countrymen. Today, there are constant worries that the countryside is being blighted by heavy-handed development, and that the fabric of rural life is getting eroded. But large swathes of the English landscape continue to endure unblighted. The further west you drive from London, the less built up the counties seem. And it's in the West Country, not least Dorset, that you'll find some of England's most gloriously 'green and pleasant land.' Thatched villages recall the idylls of authors such as Thomas Hardy, whilst the jurassic coastline offers as romantic a backdrop as any in mainland Europe.
Dorset also has its fair share of grand country houses, many of which are open to the public, either as museums or hotels. Author Evelyn Waugh considered such buildings amongst Britain's finest treasures. That said, Dorset has never quite been the dreamy, deferential world that costume dramas might suggest. It's said that virtually every Dorset family can trace a smuggler in its past. So we can hazard a guess that respect for the law was not always top of the agenda. The county's very motto is 'Who's Afear'd.'
The main markers on the Dorset map are well travelled. The quaint town of Shaftesbury offers a picturesque panorama that's hard to beat. Sherborne is also a popular spot. And windswept coastal gems such as Durdle Door and Chesil Beach continue to enthrall visitors. Meanwhile, Bournemouth offers raucous seaside shenanigans for nightowls.
But some of the greatest pleasures of Dorset are to be discovered by just driving around the countryside. As it goes, it's only by getting off the beaten path that you'll begin to really get under the skin of the place. As you wander the lesser known villages, perhaps pausing for a picnic at a scenic spot, you'll be privy to some of England's most enduring pleasures. | |
Above: Classic Dorset
Below: Spot the shark fin 
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