Chesil Beach by Jim Champion

EAT: In the centre of the South coast lies the pretty seaside and harbour town of Weymouth, hosts to a superb farmers market. Here you can sample the very freshest organic produce from quality and little-known farms in the surrounding area. A colourful plethora of goodies is on offer from cheeses and wines to meat and chutneys.

DRINK: Inland to the north sits the town of Sherbourne, home to the Sherbourne Castle, built by Sir Walter Raleigh in the 17th century. The picturesque grounds include the award winning Sherborne Castle Estate Vineyard. Highly regarded in the wine trade, the vineyard produces approximately 12,000 bottles of high quality English wine from a range of grape varieties including Pinot noir and Baccus, not to mention its own label of brandy. Visitors to the castle can sample the fruits of the estate’s labour and purchase Sherborne Castle Special Reserve label bottles from the gift shop.

STAY: Just north of Blandford Forum in the tiny village of Compton Abbas is The Old Forge, a B&B with a twist; here you can spend the night in a Gypsy Caravan. The Showman’s Wagon was built in 1934 and has been painstakingly restored in the Romany tradition; it now stands prettily in the meadow of the Old Forge with beautiful views across the countryside. The caravan includes a double bed, shower and loo. Breakfast is included in your stay, enjoy locally sourced produce after a good night’s sleep in the comfort of your cosy wagon.

EXPLORE: Down in Portland, on the peninsula south of Weymouth, lies Church Ope Cove, one of the only sheltered beaches on Portland’s exposed coast and ever popular for bathing and relaxing. However, above the cove on the hills is a wooded area which conceals ruins of an ancient church and its graveyard, dating back to the 13th century. Search through the headstones to spot the ones which bear the mark of the skulls and crossbones, here be pirates!

DIG: Still on Portland, to the northwest, keen-eyed explorers might stumble across Tout Quarry. In this abandoned stone quarry, masons and sculptors have honed their skills over the years and left behind some masterpieces. The paths that wend their way through the quarry reveal sculptures and carvings including a ship, a fireplace and a helicopter. Tout Quarry runs courses and workshops for those who want to try their hand at a bit of masonry.

LISTEN: West of the New Forest is Cranbourne and its Ancient Technology Centre, home of The Earthouse. Gather round in this unique theatre and music venue and prepare to be mesmerised by some of the finest storytellers in the land. It is advisable to bring a cushion and perhaps a blanket; there are no creature comforts at the Earthouse as you are whisked back to a candlelit time before technology. Enjoy ripping yarns beneath the stars twinkling through the skylight.

READ: A visit to the South coast will always bring back memories of childhood bedtimes for those who were treated to Enid Blyton’s tales of The Famous Five. Many of her stories were set in and around the seaside town of Swanage and Corfe Castle (renamed Kirrin Castle by Blyton). A visit to Corfe Castle village is well worth it for fans of The Five, take a picnic in the grounds and be sure to include lashings of ginger beer. In the village square sits the Ginger Pop Shop devoted to childhood; it sells all manner of toys and gadgets not to mention a huge range of Enid Blyton books, audiobooks and souvenirs.

IMAGINE: For more wonder and magic, head north from Weymouth once again to Bincombe. Above the village is an ancient landscape including the Bincombe Bumps, a series of Bronze Age barrows. It is said that these bumps are the homes of fairies and if you put your ear to the ground at noon, you can hear their songs.

About the author: Ashley Auckle works with B+B Weymouth, a boutique Bed and Breakfast in Weymouth, Dorset.

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The entire region not only includes the peninsula, but covers an area of more then 188 kilometres. In the north, you will find the Loughor Estuary and to the east one can find Swansea Bay.

Gower Peninsula, Wales, UK by Mike Mantin

There are numerous caves that can be found along the edges of the peninsula. The most popular of these caves includes the Minchin Hole Cave and the Paviland Cave. The central portion of the peninsula is agricultural land. While there are some villages in the area, very few have been developed extensively.

It has been well known that the area of Wales has been inhabited by civilizations dating back to the Upper Palaeolithic Era. Over the years, a number of archaeological discoveries on Gower Peninsula have been made. Back in 1823, an archaeologist uncovered the skeleton of a male who had lived in the peninsula more than 33,000 years ago. Several burial chambers that have been successfully dated back to the Neolithic period have also been uncovered.

Out of the original nine stones Bronze Age menhirs that once existed on the peninsula, eight of them are still standing upright today. It is here that one will find the infamous Arthur’s Stone which weighs in at a massive twenty-five tons. To imagine that these massive rocks were cut and moved to the area during the Bronze Age is simply amazing.

Three Cliffs Bay on the Gower Peninsula, South Wales, UK by Walter Daw

You will not only find a castle in the peninsula that dates back to the medieval period, you will also find the Roman fort of Leucarum. The Roman built fortress can be found where the River Loughor’s mouth existed back in the first century. Today a Norman Castle exists in the location.

You will find that the area is home to a total of six castles. You will find the Bovehill Castle on the Gower Peninsula as well as the Oxwich, Oystermouth, Pennard, Weobley and Penrice Castles. While not all of them are in the best conditions, they are nonetheless a very popular part of visiting the area.

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