Explore Dorset: Seasonal Beauty and Unique Accommodations

Dorset, as the farmers and wine-makers will tell you, changes character with the seasons in theatrical fashion. In winter, the countryside morphs into a Ye Olde England Christmas card and ruddy-faced country pubs pull local drafts and stoke spitting log fires. In the more cosmopolitan stretches, restaurants, bars, and theatre thrive in the dark brooding evenings, from Bournemouth to Bridport, where burgeoning art scenes are afoot.

Spring’s Floral Splendor

Spring is Dorset’s finest coat, particularly in the countryside where bluebells carpet woodland, primroses and daffodils line snaking lanes, and beach walks are fresh and bracing. Before long, brittle grass crunches under wellies and ice cream shops lining the coast fling open. Then, rather abruptly, autumn paints the landscape in shades of gold and rust. Consequently, as the cool air clings, people fill gastro-pub tables with game and trophy cod.

A Historical Backdrop

This is Thomas Hardy country; a land of seventh-generation fishermen and farmers whose ancestors inspired Far from the Madding Crowd and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. A puritanical approach to provenance is written into Dorset’s DNA, by necessity, not fashionable philosophy. Moreover, Dorset has for so long been wonderfully unfashionable, a rush of green en route to Devon and Cornwall, in the shadow of Somerset’s clipped bohemia – exquisitely scruffy and worlds away from the Soho House set.

Best Hotels in Dorset

The Bull, Bridport

This West Country market town is having a moment. Perhaps due to its burgeoning arts and foodie scene or its proximity to West Bay and Burton Bradstock. The Bull Hotel has been front and centre since 1953. The retro furniture filling its historic, sweeping rooms may feel a little cookie-cutter; however, guests will appreciate standalone bathtubs or oversized upholstered beds. A pub-style restaurant serves delightful dishes, and just next door, a café lined with carrot and coffee cake spills onto a narrow, vine-tangled terrace.

Address: The Bull, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF

Yalbury Cottage

Dorset is an appealing proposition for high-octane urban chefs tired of the commercial machine. Jamie Jones, an ex-Four Seasons chef, fell in love with England’s pantry in his journey. Collaborating with local farmers and fishermen, Jones serves up exquisite dishes from a laid-back farmhouse. The dining experience, reminiscent of a French auberge, features homemade bread with proper Dorset butter, alongside a compact menu highlighting local flavors.

Address: Yalbury Cottage, Lower Bockhampton, Dorchester DT2 8PZ