Cerne Abbas

Cerne Abbas lies in the Cerne Valley in the Dorset Downs, about 6 miles (10 km) north of Dorchester, and had 858 residents at the 2021 census. It takes its name from the River Cerne and the abbey that once stood here.

The village is best known for the Cerne Giant, a 55 metre (180 ft) figure cut into the chalk of Giant Hill. The National Trust owns it, and recent dating work suggests it was made between about 700 and 1100 CE, in the late Anglo-Saxon period. You can see it from the Giant’s View lay-by and car park off the A352. Views are also good from the higher side of the free car park on Kettle Bridge Lane.

A one-mile village history walk starts from that car park, on mostly level paths. It passes Abbey House, the abbey’s gatehouse, one of the few parts of the complex to survive the Dissolution in the 1530s. Beyond the archway is St Augustine’s Well, where the practice of well dressing continues. St Mary’s Church dates from around 1300 and survived because it served the people of the village rather than the monks. The New Inn uses golden Ham Hill stone, which was plentiful locally once the abbey was demolished. The village has three pubs.

Public toilets are in the village centre and there is a bus stop there too. There is no railway station, and the nearest town is Dorchester.