Woodsford Castle

Think of a Dorset thatched roof and you might think first of a small cottage tucked away in a quiet village, with roses climbing up towards the eaves. We have lots of those, but less well-known is that the largest thatched roof on any inhabited building in England is in Dorset.

Woodsford Castle doesn’t look much like a castle, but instead of fortifications, it boasts 275 square metres of thatch. It may hold another record: as the oldest inhabited building in Dorset. It belonged to the Strangways for 600 years, but was usually lived in by tenants or offshoots of the family.

Today it is owned by the Landmark Trust, which restores historic buildings and lets them as holiday accommodation.

Nearest postcode: DT2 8AS
OS reference: SY758903
What3words: deploying.tidying.frocks
www.landmarktrust.org.uk