John Newth

It may not be the Arlberg or the Brenner, but the Dorsetshire Gap is the closest the county has to a mountain pass. It is where one of the ancient routes from the south breaks through the chalk escarpment into the Blackmore Vale. The gap is also a crossroads, as

Like it or loathe it – and there are plenty of people on each side of that argument – this large abstract sculpture creates a focal point on Poole Quay in a central position at the junction with the High Street. It was created in 1991 by Sir Anthony Caro, regarded as

Less than 400 years ago, Englishmen slaughtered Englishmen in the pitched battles of the Civil War. There were many smaller skirmishes as well, including one in Abbotsbury, which was held for the King by the Strangways family. In 1644 the Parliamentarians attacked the village. Some of the Royalist garrison hastily

A country station on a summer’s day with a steam train puffing in. It’s hard to imagine a better place to be. And Corfe Castle sums up all that is best about a country station.  It is one of five stations on the Swanage Railway. The Swanage branch

The Monday market at ‘Stur’ was more than a market, it was a gathering of the farming community. It was held weekly for 700 years and earned the town the title, ‘The capital of the Blackmore Vale’. As the auctioneer moved on to the next type of livestock, a bell

The oldest river crossing in Dorset? It can’t be proved for sure, but White Mill Bridge over the Stour has a better claim than most. The structure we see today is only 500 years old, but beneath it are timber pilings that were there 400 years before that. As