Dorchester

Dorchester is the county town of Dorset, on the banks of the River Frome to the south of the Dorset Downs. It had 21,358 residents at the 2021 census. The Romans called it Durnovaria, and the town keeps more of that past than most: remains of the Roman walls can still be seen, and pathways known as The Walks form a square inside the modern town.

Three sites are free to see. Maumbury Rings, a circular earthwork 85 metres across, began as a Neolithic henge and was converted into a Roman amphitheatre; it is now public open space. The Roman Town House is the only fully exposed Roman town house in the country, and its grounds can be explored at any time, while going inside the building means a guided tour booked in advance. Maiden Castle, about two miles south-west of the centre, is one of the largest and most complex Iron Age hillforts in Europe, and entry is free in daylight hours. The site is exposed with uneven ground, and dogs must be kept on a lead because sheep graze there.

The Dorset Museum and Art Gallery is on High West Street and has a Hardy’s Dorset gallery. Thomas Hardy designed Max Gate in Dorchester and lived there until his death in 1928. Dorchester has two railway stations, Dorchester South and Dorchester West, and Poundbury, an urban village built since 1993, is part of the modern town.