Itinerary – Enjoy a Car-Free Weekend in Dorset
No car, no problem! Dorset may seem like it would be hard to explore without a car but actually it isn’t! We have written a great guide to visiting beautiful historic Dorchester, the county town of Dorset and the surrounding area on foot, bike, train and bus. This varied weekend itinerary has great food and drinks, cultural experiences, breath-taking views and lungsful of fresh Dorset air.
Friday Evening - Arrive and explore
Arrive in Dorchester via train. Dorchester boasts two train stations with direct links to London, Woking, Basingstoke, Southampton, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Bruton, Bristol and Bath. So many of these locations are wonderful travel destinations in their own right, so if you want to extend your travels from Dorchester, you can easily do so by train.
Dorchester West train station | Departures, arrivals and tickets | GWR
Dorchester South Train Station | South Western Railway
Both train stations are centrally located in Dorchester so you can easily walk to your booked accommodation. Charming and friendly Bed and Breakfast options are available at Bramlies or Bay Tree House. Or we can recommend The King’s Arms, The Sleeping Bear or Premier Inn hotels too. All within a very short walk from both stations.
You will probably be a bit hungry after the journey and you may be in need of a pint of local Dorset ale from Copper Street Brewery or a glass of fizz from a Dorset vineyard in The Pursuit of Poppiness. Both of these fine drinking establishments are located in the buzzing Brewery Square. This award-winning redevelopment complex embraces its heritage as the Eldrige Pope Brewery and is full of fantastic shops, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. So, you can definitely find a place to eat and grab a drink and then maybe enjoy a film or do an escape room while you are there too!
Saturday Morning – Follow one of the Dorchester on Foot Walking Routes
Time to explore! Download the Dorchester on Foot leaflet or pick one up from the Tourist Information Point at Shire Hall Museum and follow one of the four town centre walks. Each of the walks takes between 30 – 90 minutes. All are full of history and there are some really interesting places to stop off and explore further on your way round such as The Roman Town House, Borough Gardens, Maumbury Rings, Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, The Mill Stream, or Shire Hall Museum.
Saturday Afternoon – Hop on a bus to Poundbury
There are lots of lovely cafes in the town centre for a spot of lunch. One of our favourites is the unusually named Horse with the Red Umbrella. Make sure to read the Blue plaque outside the café to find out where this delightful café got its name.
After lunch, walk round the corner to the Trinity Street bus stop and hop on the number 6 bus up to Poundbury. This bus runs every half hour Monday- Saturday and you can download the latest timetable here
Hop off at Queen Mother Square and spend the afternoon exploring this unique urban extension of Dorchester, developed on Duchy of Cornwall land and built in accordance with the architectural and urban planning principles championed by King Charles III in his book A Vision of Britain. Appreciate Poundbury’s classical design, strong sense of community, independent shops, cafes and fresh green spaces.
The shopping in Poundbury is particularly excellent. The shops are dotted around Poundbury, clustered around Squares. Crown Square and the shops around the Buttermarket are definitely worth checking out for homeware, fashion and art.
Image: Cherryade
Saturday Evening – Hit the High Streets
Dorchester’s High Streets (One long continuous street but the Western bit is called High West Street and the Eastern bit is called High East Street!) historic buildings are home to some wonderful restaurants, bars and pubs.
Start your evening off with a cocktail in The King’s Arms, then book a table at Myra’s for an outstanding culinary journey through Korea and Japan. Finish off the evening at Tom Brown’s pub, a lively local pub known for its music and vibrant atmosphere.
Sunday Morning – Follow the Food Trail by bicycle
Once you are up and about the pick up a Beryl e-Bike and follow the Dorset Food Trail. Following the historic footsteps of the valley’s farmers taking their produce to Dorchester’s market, this Trail shines a light on the rich food heritage of the Frome Valley.
The Frome Valley with its meadows, pastures and fields, has been shaped by millennia of farming and food production. The Trail follows the historic footsteps of the valley’s farmers taking their produce to Dorchester’s market. Water meadows are just one example of what you can see along the route – a farming innovation in the seventeenth century. The spring-fed river water and its steady temperature warmed the soil to encourage abundant grass growth for feeding sheep in the lean months of March and April. Impressively large flocks of sheep were noted by contemporary writers feeding on this lush ‘early bite’. The wealth of food produced in the valley undoubtedly helped build the historic Charter Market in Dorchester dates back to 1305 and still thrives today.
Sunday Afternoon
As your car-free weekend in Dorchester comes to an end, it’s time to make your way back to the train station and begin your journey home. We hope you’ve enjoyed exploring the town at a relaxed pace, discovering its rich history, charming streets, and local delights. Thank you for embracing a more sustainable way to travel—we hope to welcome you back again soon!