A Sunny Easter in Dorchester
The sun has come to Dorchester! Hip Hip Hip Hooray!
Grab your sunglasses and head to Dorchester, Dorset for a bright and sunny Easter adventure!
Dorchester Arts have brought some extra sunshine to our warm and welcoming town with Helios, a new touring artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram measuring seven metres in diameter! It is is FREE to visit during the day, 10am – 4pm and no tickets are needed!
The installation is a fusion of solar imagery, sunlight and a specially created surround sound composition by Duncan Speakman and Sarah Anderson. Helios follows on from Luke’s other astronomical artworks Museum of the Moon, (at Dorchester Arts in 2019), Gaia, and Mars (at Dorchester Arts in 2022).
Catch The Sun
Throughout Helios, there is also an exhibition in the Corn Exchange gallery of sun-inspired artworks created by amateur and professional artists from across Dorset.
Don’t forget to do Helios Trail too! Dorchester Arts have created a fascinating trail with the aim of helping people understand the vast size of the Sun and the scale of our solar system. Hunt down the posters in various locations around Dorchester and Dorset to show where the planets would be and how large they would be if they were at the same scale as Helios. For example, Mercury, the Sun’s nearest neighbour, would be on South Street, 291 metres from Helios but just 2.45cm in diameter – less than an inch across compared to Helios at 700cm (that’s more than 275 inches!). The furthest would be Neptune…at Bridport Arts Centre and the size of a football! You can see the locations and follow the trail here
Outdoor adventures
Now that the sun is out and the Spring in here, the play fountains are back on at Brewery Square! An Easter day out in Dorchester doesn’t have to be expensive and there are lots of free outdoor places to visit in and around the town to entertain your Spring chickens!
- The Great Field Park
- Brewery Square
- Borough Gardens
- Maumbury Rings
- Ratty’s Trail
- King’s Road Park
- Skate Park
- Salisbury Field
- Maiden Castle
- Roman Town House
- Hardy’s Monument
Seasonal attractions
Easter is also the time that lots of seasonal attractions open up again! Hardy’s Cottage and Hardy’s House – Max Gate opened again on 24th March for the 2026 season. The World Heritage Museums are also all open again 7 days a week from the 1st April 2026. These museums are:
