Abbotsbury

Abbotsbury is a village in west Dorset, 8 miles south-east of Bridport and about 7.5 miles west-south-west of Dorchester, with Weymouth about 9 miles away. The 2021 census counted 451 people in the parish, and the whole parish lies within the Dorset National Landscape.

A long street of local stone houses runs through the village, many of them thatched. The abbey’s Grade I listed tithe barn, built around 1400, is 272 feet long and reputedly the largest thatched tithe barn in the world, though only the south-west end still has its roof. The parish church of St Nicholas has a 14th-century tower, with 15th-century rebuilding. Three sights lie close together. Abbotsbury Swannery keeps a colony of nesting mute swans and opens seasonally. Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens are open nearly all year, with hours on the gardens’ own website. Part of Chesil Beach lies within the parish.

St Catherine’s Chapel is a 14th-century pilgrimage chapel on a hill between the village and the coast, with views over Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland. Reaching it is a short out-and-back detour uphill from the village.

The South West Coast Path and the Macmillan Way both pass through the village. The coast path stage from Abbotsbury to West Bay is 9.3 miles with 850 feet of climbing.