Historic houses and gardens

Athelhampton House & Gardens

Athelhampton’s history and that of its inter-related families covers more than a thousand years. Much of the present house has stood for over five centuries.

Sir William Martyn built the Hall at Athelhampton in about the year of 1485 and received a license to enclose 160 acres of deer park and fortify his manor. The house remained in the Martyn family for the next 4 generations until the house was eventually purchased by Alfred Cart de Lafontaine in 1891, who set about restoring the house and creating the formal gardens we see today.

Read More

Walking

Walkers are very welcome at The Gables!

We have storage for coats and boots in our porch, and maps of the locality to borrow…. And don’t hesitate to ask for recommendations – we are keen walkers ourselves.

The South West Coastal Path runs along the entire length of the Jurassic Coast and offers the walker stunning views, with a bird’s eye view of many coastal features. From the Coast Path you can experience the drama of sheer cliff faces, wonder at the strangely eroded rock formations and above all, witness how the geology within the coast reveals itself – showcasing the Earth’s History over the last 250 million years.

Guided walks and events take place throughout the year and details can be found on the website:

www.southwestcoastpath.com

Jurassic Coast

The Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site is England’s first natural World Heritage Site – it is known as The Jurassic Coast. It covers 95 miles of  stunning coastline from East Devon to Dorset, with rocks recording 185 million years of the Earth’s history.

World Heritage status was achieved because of the site’s unique insight into the Earth Sciences as it clearly depicts a geological ‘walk through time’ spanning the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

Bridport is one of the gateway towns to the Jurassic coast, from where you can explore all its fascinating history.

https://jurassiccoast.org/