---

A Dorset market town built on the rope and net making trades and its export business, Bridport today has a plethora of arts and crafts shops, a twice weekly street market and a twice monthly farmers’ market where holiday-makers can get their fill of lovely local produce. The Bridport Arts Centre, with its theatre and gallery, is also well worth a visit for culture vultures.

Bridport itself offers a leisure centre with a full range of sporting activities for all ages as well as Palmers Brewery where you can see the brewing process brought to life and experience a tour of the town’s historical buildings. Beer fans will also get the opportunity to sup fine local ale at the UK’s only thatched brewery!

Just outside of Bridport you’ll find one of Dorset’s oldest golf clubs, Bridport Golf Club, with an 18-hole course that offers wonderful views of surrounding seascapes and landscapes. While down by the shore and feeling active, you could make the most of a guided walk and hunt for fossils along the 95-mile-long and 185-million-year-old coastline.  Then, why not make a stop at Bridport Museum to discover more about the area’s more recent heritage?

Close by, you can visit West Bay – as famous for its dramatic cliffs as its starring role in ITV’s Broadchurch alongside David Tennant and Olivia Colman. This is also the ideal base for cycling tours and boat trips along the Jurassic Coast to the likes of Charmouth and Lyme Regis.

Don’t miss out on a trip to the striking Jacobean manor house of Mapperton and its splendid Italianate formal gardens, which provided the location for the 2015 film production of Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd. Voted ‘The Nation’s Finest Manor House’ by Country Life magazine, a wander through the grounds that offer fine views and exquisite topiary should be high on your travel itinerary.  You could round off a pleasant afternoon with tea in the café or with a wine tour and tasting at the award-winning Furleigh Estate.

Make sure you start your visit in the style you mean to continue, by booking a cosy Bridport holiday cottage through Love Cottages today.