Places to visit

Foothills Villages

All located along or linked to the A350 Blandford-Shaftesbury road, these villages each offer wonderful walks into the surrounding hills, and most have inviting places to stop and eat.

The Iwernes (Iwerne Courtney, or Shroton, and Iwerne Minster) take their name from the Iwerne stream, a tributary of the Stour. Iwerne Minster is also home to Clayesmore School and Sports Centre.



Fontmell Magna, Compton Abbas and Melbury Abbas are all exceptionally pretty stone villages, lying at the foot of some outstanding National Trust downland, Fontmell Down and Melbury Hill. Melbury Beacon, at 863 feet above sea level, has often been used as a warning beacon, and told of the approach of the Spanish Armada. More recently, it formed part of a chain of `beacons` across Dorset to celebrate the Queen`s Golden Jubilee.

Former seat of the Portman family, who had wide and influential connections in the area, Sutton Waldron, located quietly off the main road, is a relaxed village with a Pugin church.