The writings of 18th Century novelist Thomas Hardy present the ancient ‘Kingdom of Wessex’ as a place of grinding poverty and pitiless landlords, amidst a rural landscape of unsurpassed beauty. Hardy sets the county of Dorset at the heart of his Wessex and evokes a landscape of rolling hills, rich hedgerows, wild heathland, small dairy farms and rugged coastline. Dorset remains a rural county with thatched villages, attractive market towns, and a landscape that Hardy would recognise today .

Our drive takes us through the beautiful rolling countryside of the Cranborne Chase AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) to Shaftesbury (Hardy’s ‘Shaston') where we will take the opportunity to take a look at picturesque Gold Hill (cameras at the ready), a favourite with period drama film-makers and setting for Britain’s favourite advert of all time (Hovis bread!). From Shaftesbury we make our way to historic Sherborne (Sherton Abbas) with its two castles and magnificent abbey, and thence to Cerne Abbas (Abbot’s Cernel) where the famous chalk figure of a naked giant, displaying his manhood for all to see, stands prominent on the hillside.

After a stop in Cerne Abbas we will drive through the beautiful thatched villages of the Piddle Valley (yes, really) to reach Dorset’s county town of Dorchester (Hardy’s Casterbridge). As well as exploring some visible Roman remains and an Iron Age hillfort we will learn of ‘Hanging Judge’ Jeffries and the Pitchfork Rebellion, and, if time allows, visit Maxgate (Hardy’s town house) before heading over to his birthplace at Bockhampton, where the cottage is lovingly preserved by the National Trust, and nearby Stinsford church where Hardy’s heart lies buried in the beautiful graveyard.

Rolling hills, thatched villages, wild heathland - Dorset has it all.

Suitable for pick-ups from

• Bath

• Salisbury

  and surrounding area . . .

• Dorset

• Portland cruise terminal

• Southampton cruise terminal

The spectacular limestone cliffs along the Dorset Coast have long been a mecca for geologists and fossil hunters. Above the cliffs chalk grasslands offer a haven for rare wild flowers, butterflies and animals. The entire coast of Dorset has 185 million years of geology on show, with rocks from the Jurassic, Triassic  and Cretaceous periods represented. The coast was inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2001. There are a number of spectacular offshore rock formations and some beautiful thatched villages and fishing ports.

Our route takes us out onto the Purbeck peninsula (the ‘Isle of Purbeck’) and around the beautiful Studland Bay, to see the weathered sea stacks known as ‘Old Harry Rocks’, before reaching the historic ruins of Corfe Castle, standing sentinel above the picturesque stone-built village of the same name. Learn of a royal murder, and an act of betrayal, before we move on to lagoon-like Lulworth Cove with its fossilised forest and viewing platform for spectacular Durdle Door. 

From Lulworth Cove we will travel to Weymouth and the Isle of Portland (‘Portland Bill’). Weymouth and Portland played host to the Olympic Games sailing events in 2012. On the way back across the causeway from Portland we shall stop for refreshments at the Dorset Wildlife Trust’s excellent café, on the edge of the unique shingle-spit, Chesil Bank. An opportunity to see Chesil and the wildlife of the Fleet Lagoon at close quarters.

From Portland we head west to the lovely thatched village of Abbotsbury, with its colony of swans and its subtropical gardens, past West Bay and on to historic Lyme Regis home to the 19th century fossil hunter, Mary Anning. Lyme Regis has been the site of several of the world’s most significant finds including the Icthyosaur. Nineteenth century novelist Jane Austen set one of the scenes from ‘Persuasion’ in Lyme Regis, and the Cobb Harbour was the setting for one of Meryl Streep’s more enigmatic scenes from the movie ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’. After some time to explore Lyme we head back to base picking a route through the most attractive scenery and villages along the way.  

Suitable for pick-ups from

• Bath

• Salisbury

  and surrounding area . . .

• Somerset

• Southampton cruise terminal

• Dorset

• Portland cruise terminal

* Available as a half day from Portland Cruise Terminal, omitting lunch and making visits in a different order.

The county of Dorset has so much to offer the visitor. Many will be familiar with its coastal landmarks and seaside towns, but there is so much more to Dorset than that. Let us take you on a journey through the heart of Dorset, a largely undeveloped landscape of tiny thatched villages, patchwork fields, narrow lanes and high hills with stunning views. We’ll open your eyes to one of Britain’s best-kept secrets.

Our journey takes us through historic Cranborne Chase (once a Royal hunting forest) visiting the charming, unspoilt villages of Cranborne, Sixpenny Handley and Tollard Royal. The drive through ‘the Chase’ is one of our favourites; neat parkland, well-managed woodland and peaceful villages with brightly-coloured and lovingly tended cottage gardens. Sometimes, when the world appears to have gone mad, the drive from Cranborne to Tollard Royal is all we need to unwind and ‘reboot’ that warm glow.

Beyond Tollard we drive along the improbably narrow lanes to Ashmore (Dorset’s highest village), where we may take the opportunity for some fresh air and a ‘leg stretch’ around the village pond, before winding our way down into the valley of the River Stour and the handsome larger village of Fontmell Magna. We head south through Iwerne MInster before exploring the picture-postcard brick & flint villages to the west of magnificent Hambledon Hill. 

We will then head for the high ground, where the rolling Dorset Downs meet the glorious Blackdown Hills. We reach the top of one of the hill climbs to find the Iron Age remains of Bulbarrow with panoramic views all round. Just below Bulbarrow, and seemingly in the ‘middle of nowhere’, the Fox Inn at Lower Ansty provides an opportunity for refreshment.

Beyond ‘The Fox’ we take in the thatched villages of Milton Abbas, Cerne Abbas (where the famous chalk figure of a naked giant, displaying his manhood for all to see, stands prominent on the hillside) and Sydling St Nicholas before reaching the attractive little town of Beaminster with its distinctive market cross. From Beaminster we head for Broadwindsor and the magnificent viewpoint of ‘Pilsdon Pen’, before driving through the handsome town of Bridport before heading towards the County Town of Dorchester, passing a huge concentration of Bronze Age burial mounds along the way.

From Dorchester, your starting point will determine the route home. Rest assured, it will be scenic.

Suitable for pick-ups from

• Bath

• Salisbury

  and surrounding area . . .

• Dorset

• Portland cruise terminal

• Southampton cruise terminal

Bath is the United Kingdom’s only UNESCO World Heritage city, and only one of three cities in the world where the designation applies to the entire city. Beyond the city limits, Bath is surrounded by fascinating towns and villages and beautiful countryside. This tour will showcase Bath’s famous architecture and historic Roman remains and also explore some of the picturesque local villages and landscape……

Our drive around the architectural highlights of Bath will visit Queen Square, the Circus, the Royal Crescent, the Paragon, Milsom Street, Sydney Gardens, and Great Pulteney Street. There will be an opportunity to visit the famous Roman Baths.

Beyond the centre of Bath we will drive through the lush countryside beside the river Avon through the villages of Limpley Stoke and Freshford before reaching the handsome and historic riverside town of Bradford-on-Avon. From Bradford we head for handsome Corsham with its Flemish architecture. From Corsham our route will depend on your start point. If you are returning to Bath the drive will take us through attractive villages on the southern edge of the Cotswolds and over the Civil War battlefield of Lansdown.

For start/finish points outside of Bath this will be covered on the ‘outward leg’ of the tour.

Suitable for pick-ups from 

Central London, Bristol, Bath, 

Salisbury and surrounding area,

 Southampton cruise terminal, 

Oxford,

 Heathrow Airport and London.

Somerset is a county of great contrasts. From high hills and moorlands to mysterious lowlands and levels. Somerset’s best-known hills are the Mendip Hills (near Cheddar and Wells) and the hills of the Exmoor National Park, but there are other ranges of hills; lonely, idyllic and undeveloped that are well worth a day of anyone’s time …..

Our route takes us through mysterious Glastonbury, nestling in the shadow of the Mendip Hills. Learn about the ‘Pitchfork Rebellion’ as we climb gently onto the long ridge of the Polden Hills (the first of our secret hills) and admire the far-reaching views on either side over Sedgemoor and the ‘Levels’.

From the Poldens we descend to meet the Bristol Channel near Bridgewater and then drive south to the village of North Petherton and begin our exploration of the next range of secret hills, the Quantock Hills. After taking a break at the National Trust’s Fyne Court, our route heads onwards and upwards to the summit crest of the Quantocks. The crest of the Quantocks rewards the visitor with great sea views, all the way across to Wales, and also the near certainty of spotting herds of native Red Deer and wild ponies.

Our route down from the crest takes us to Nether Stowey, where Coleridge composed the ‘Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’ and ‘Kubla Khan’. Our route follows the coast road through the lovely Quantock villages and down to the sea at the picturesque harbour at Watchet, and a longer break.

From Watchet we head across to Blue Anchor Bay and then up through the tiny villages of the Brendon Hills to the summit viewpoint of Ralegh’s Cross. Our descent through the Brendons takes us to the attractive Somerset town of Wiveliscombe, then from Wiveliscombe we skirt the county town of Taunton and climb to the top of the lonely Blackdown Hills, a landscape of rolling hills and pockets of deciduous woodland that appears to be unchanged from a bygone era. 

From the Blackdown Hills we will head homeward past Cadbury Castle (an Iron Age hillfort long associated with the legend of King Arthur), Ham Hill and Montacute - the sandstone hills of south Somerset.

Suitable for pick-ups from

 Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and surrounding area, Exeter and surrounding area, Somerset, Dorset

Somerset is one of England’s most rural counties. It has four separate ranges of hills, three areas designated as AONBs (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty), two picturesque areas of lowland levels, and a multitude of myths, legends and traditions. This tour takes us through the spectacular limestone gorges of the Mendip Hills, visits England’s smallest city and one of its most magnificent cathedrals, and explores mystical Glastonbury, home to so many of the area’s legends.

Read more

This tour will take us through the rolling Mendip Hills, with their network of drystone walls and rocky outcrops, and descend from the western escarpment via the spectacular gorge of Burrington Combe, passing the famous ‘Rock of Ages’ (inspiration for the Reverend Augustus Toplady’s wonderful hymn). After a refreshment stop we will head on to the town of Cheddar - famed for its cheese - and then drive through the spectacular Cheddar Gorge, past the famous caves (and keeping an eye open for feral goats on the rocky ledges), and on to the village of Priddy where the medieval sheep hurdles testify to the ancient sheep fayre, first held on the green in the 14th century.

From Priddy we will head on to the city of Wells, a small and perfectly formed medieval city (England’s smallest) with the most magnificent Cathedral and Bishop’s Palace. We shall make time to visit the Cathedral and explore Wells before heading off again to mysterious Glastonbury nestling in the shadow of Glastonbury Tor. We head home passing Frome (location for much of the filming of the TV drama Poldark). 

We will, of course, make time for you to visit a local hostelry to sample some local cheese and Somerset cider; after all, it would be rude not to….!

Suitable for pick-ups from 

Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and surrounding area, Somerset, Avonmouth Cruise Terminal

Exmoor is one of our most diverse National Parks with rugged coastline, moorland, meadows, fast-flowing rivers and ancient mixed woodland. With its wildlife, picturesque villages, and spectacular vistas Exmoor is one of the most beautiful and untouched areas of the South West. 

Exmoor has a foot in both Devon and Somerset and there is a distinct difference across the county divide. This stunningly scenic route takes you into both areas to discover the historic and natural beauty of the region. 

Our luxury SUV allow you to travel in comfort along some of the narrow and less-frequented moorland and coastal roads, for a more intimate view of Exmoor. You will be able to visit the dramatic Valley of Rocks with its feral goats, and hopefully catching a view of a wild Red Deer stag or one of Exmoor’s wild ponies high up on the open moor. There is also a chance for a leg-stretch to visit the hidden natural harbour at Heddon’s Mouth - once a favourite haunt of smugglers. 

Not only is there an abundance of natural beauty on Exmoor but an abundance of picturesque villages and towns, such as Selworthy, Allerford, Simonsbath, Dunster, Lynton and Lynmouth, all of which blend seamlessly into the surrounding countryside.  Exmoor’s distinctive colour-washed cottages with their thatched roofs, tall chimneys and bread ovens, clustered around village greens and alongside sparkling streams, are a sight not to be missed. The village inns also offer the prospect of enjoying a lunch prepared from fine local produce, as well as one of the West Country’s wonderful cream teas!

The beauty of Exmoor is that whatever time of year you visit there is always something different to see.

Suitable for departures from

Bristol, Bath, Salisbury, Exeter, Somerset, Devon

The South Western corner of the Cotswolds has more than its fair share of quaint villages, all constructed from the local honey-coloured stone for which the area is so famous. 

Many of the settlements have a real tale to tell. The charming village of Uley, for instance, is the home of a touching true story of a domesticated gorilla, and also the much sought-after ‘Uley Blue cloth’. Stroud, Britain’s first ‘Bee Guardian’ town, is the home of green baize, the traditional covering of snooker and pool tables. And in picturesque Painswick you will hear the legend of ‘Puppydog Pie’ and learn of the annual ‘clypping’ ceremony.

This region of the Cotswolds also has more than its share of visible pre-history, including the splendidly-named Neolithic burial chamber ‘Hetty Pegler’s Tump’, Uley Bury Iron Age hill fort with its steep battlements, and Nympsfield long barrow where archeologists found not only multiple skeletons but also some wonderful Neolithic pottery.

Close to Stroud is the village of Slad home to the Cotswolds’ great author, Laurie Lee, whose biographical novel ‘Cider With Rosie’ evokes the atmosphere of rural England in the early twentieth century.

Painswick - ‘Queen of Cotswolds’ - is a handsome town with a magnificent church and ninety nine beautifully-maintained yew trees in the churchyard. The walls of the church are pock-marked with the evidence of musket balls and ‘grapeshot’ fired during the English Civil war. 

An exploration of the western edge of the area will take us through the market towns of Dursley, Tetbury and Wotton-under-Edge, as well as visiting Berkeley Castle, built in 1067 and still a family home, where we will learn of a gruesome royal murder which took place there in 1327.

Character inns and tearooms abound, so there will be no shortage of refreshment opportunities along the way.

Suitable for pickups from 

Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Avonmouth Cruise Terminal, Cheltenham and surrounding areas.

The area known as the Cotswolds isn’t contained within one county. Although most of the region falls within the county of Gloucestershire it also spreads into Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and even Warwickshire

This tour visits the very heart of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire and West Oxfordshire. We will pick out the most impressive towns, the most idyllic villages, the most interesting churches, and some splendid gardens and stately manor houses. We will visit either Hidcote Manor Garden (NT) or Kiftsgate Court Gardens, and have the opportunity of visiting Snowshill Manor (NT).

The common thread throughout the Cotswolds is the underlying bedrock - the local honey-coloured limestone which has given rise to the area’s distinctively warm and picturesque building style. Cotswold stone can be seen it can be seen not only in the cottages and manor houses, the great tithe barns and the magnificent ‘Wool Churches’, the wayside crosses and the war memorials, but also in the myriad dry-stone walls which separate the patchwork of pastures and pockets of woodland.

Well-known towns and villages which will be included in our itinerary include Burford, Bourton-on-the Water, Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden, Broadway, Snowshill, Naunton and The Slaughters, and we will also surprise you with some lesser-known ‘gems’.

We have a number of fine country inns and cosy tearooms lined up too, so coffee time and lunchtime will be a treat!

Suitable for pickups from: 

Bath, Bristol, Avonmouth Cruise Terminal, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Heathrow, Central London.

As the wildest expanse of land in southern Britain Dartmoor National Park is often referred to as ‘England’s Last Wilderness’. There are very few places in developed countries which give the feeling of loneliness and mystery that Dartmoor can provide. The landscape provided Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the inspiration for the ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’ and more recently was used as the setting for many of the horse riding scenes in Stephen Spielberg’s movie Warhorse. The Dartmoor skyline is punctuated by dramatic hilltop outcrops and pinnacles, known locally as ‘Tors’, and the landscape is dotted with prehistoric monuments such as stone circles, stone rows, hut circles and the remains of ancient farming enclosures.

There is a popular view that Dartmoor is a bleak, brooding place, and on a rainy or misty day it can appear to be just that, but those of us who know ‘The Moor’ intimately can paint you a very different picture. In mid and late summer the high moor is a blaze of purple heather and golden gorse, in the springtime the colour is provided by bluebells, and in autumn by the pockets of deciduous woodland which wind through the valleys and line the riverbanks. Below the high moor a gentler landscape is dotted with small thatched villages, waterfalls, rapids and light woodland. The herds of wild ponies wandering The Moor add their own charm too.

Our tour will take us to pretty villages of Ponsworthy, Holne, Widecombe and Lustleigh. We will pass the dramatic Haytor Rocks, Houndtor and Saddle Tor. We shall visit Princetown (England’s highest town and home of the infamous and historic Dartmoor Prison), and visit the former Duchy Hotel to learn about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s visit there and his inspiration for the ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’. We will take time to visit historic sites such as Bennet’s Cross, Merrivale stone row and the extensive remains of the Bronze Age village at Grimspound. 

Dartmoor boasts some splendid country inns, and we will make sure that we visit the excellent Rock Inn at Haytor Vale and the splendidly named ‘Who’d Have Thought It’ Inn at Milton Combe.

Suitable for pick-ups from 

Somerset & Dorset, Exeter, Plymouth and surrounding areas.

Exmoor is one of our most diverse National Parks with rugged coastline, moorland, meadows, fast-flowing rivers and ancient mixed woodland. With its wildlife, picturesque villages, and spectacular vistas Exmoor is one of the most beautiful and untouched areas of the South West. 

Exmoor has a foot in both Devon and Somerset and there is a distinct difference across the county divide. This stunningly scenic route takes you into both areas to discover the historic and natural beauty of the region. 

Our luxury SUV allow you to travel in comfort along some of the narrow and less-frequented moorland and coastal roads, for a more intimate view of Exmoor. You will be able to visit the dramatic Valley of Rocks with its feral goats, and hopefully catching a view of a wild Red Deer stag or one of Exmoor’s wild ponies high up on the open moor. There is also a chance for a leg-stretch to visit the hidden natural harbour at Heddon’s Mouth - once a favourite haunt of smugglers. 

Not only is there an abundance of natural beauty on Exmoor but an abundance of picturesque villages and towns, such as Selworthy, Allerford, Simonsbath, Dunster, Lynton and Lynmouth, all of which blend seamlessly into the surrounding countryside.  Exmoor’s distinctive colour-washed cottages with their thatched roofs, tall chimneys and bread ovens, clustered around village greens and alongside sparkling streams, are a sight not to be missed. The village inns also offer the prospect of enjoying a lunch prepared from fine local produce, as well as one of the West Country’s wonderful cream teas!

The beauty of Exmoor is that whatever time of year you visit there is always something different to see.

Suitable for departures from

Bristol, Bath, Salisbury, Exeter, Somerset, Devon

Exmoor is one of our most diverse National Parks with rugged coastline, moorland, meadows, fast-flowing rivers and ancient mixed woodland. With its wildlife, picturesque villages, and spectacular vistas Exmoor is one of the most beautiful and untouched areas of the South West. 

Exmoor has a foot in both Devon and Somerset and there is a distinct difference across the county divide. This stunningly scenic route takes you into both areas to discover the historic and natural beauty of the region. 

Our luxury SUV allow you to travel in comfort along some of the narrow and less-frequented moorland and coastal roads, for a more intimate view of Exmoor. You will be able to visit the dramatic Valley of Rocks with its feral goats, and hopefully catching a view of a wild Red Deer stag or one of Exmoor’s wild ponies high up on the open moor. There is also a chance for a leg-stretch to visit the hidden natural harbour at Heddon’s Mouth - once a favourite haunt of smugglers. 

Not only is there an abundance of natural beauty on Exmoor but an abundance of picturesque villages and towns, such as Selworthy, Allerford, Simonsbath, Dunster, Lynton and Lynmouth, all of which blend seamlessly into the surrounding countryside.  Exmoor’s distinctive colour-washed cottages with their thatched roofs, tall chimneys and bread ovens, clustered around village greens and alongside sparkling streams, are a sight not to be missed. The village inns also offer the prospect of enjoying a lunch prepared from fine local produce, as well as one of the West Country’s wonderful cream teas!

The beauty of Exmoor is that whatever time of year you visit there is always something different to see.

Suitable for departures from

Bristol, Bath, Salisbury, Exeter, Somerset, Devon

As the wildest expanse of land in southern Britain Dartmoor National Park is often referred to as ‘England’s Last Wilderness’. There are very few places in developed countries which give the feeling of loneliness and mystery that Dartmoor can provide. The landscape provided Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the inspiration for the ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’ and more recently was used as the setting for many of the horse riding scenes in Stephen Spielberg’s movie Warhorse. The Dartmoor skyline is punctuated by dramatic hilltop outcrops and pinnacles, known locally as ‘Tors’, and the landscape is dotted with prehistoric monuments such as stone circles, stone rows, hut circles and the remains of ancient farming enclosures.

There is a popular view that Dartmoor is a bleak, brooding place, and on a rainy or misty day it can appear to be just that, but those of us who know ‘The Moor’ intimately can paint you a very different picture. In mid and late summer the high moor is a blaze of purple heather and golden gorse, in the springtime the colour is provided by bluebells, and in autumn by the pockets of deciduous woodland which wind through the valleys and line the riverbanks. Below the high moor a gentler landscape is dotted with small thatched villages, waterfalls, rapids and light woodland. The herds of wild ponies wandering The Moor add their own charm too.

Our tour will take us to pretty villages of Ponsworthy, Holne, Widecombe and Lustleigh. We will pass the dramatic Haytor Rocks, Houndtor and Saddle Tor. We shall visit Princetown (England’s highest town and home of the infamous and historic Dartmoor Prison), and visit the former Duchy Hotel to learn about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s visit there and his inspiration for the ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’. We will take time to visit historic sites such as Bennet’s Cross, Merrivale stone row and the extensive remains of the Bronze Age village at Grimspound. 

Dartmoor boasts some splendid country inns, and we will make sure that we visit the excellent Rock Inn at Haytor Vale and the splendidly named ‘Who’d Have Thought It’ Inn at Milton Combe.

Suitable for pick-ups from 

Somerset & Dorset, Exeter, Plymouth and surrounding areas.

The county of Dorset has so much to offer the visitor. Many will be familiar with its coastal landmarks and seaside towns, but there is so much more to Dorset than that. Let us take you on a journey through the heart of Dorset, a largely undeveloped landscape of tiny thatched villages, patchwork fields, narrow lanes and high hills with stunning views. We’ll open your eyes to one of Britain’s best-kept secrets.

Our journey takes us through historic Cranborne Chase (once a Royal hunting forest) visiting the charming, unspoilt villages of Cranborne, Sixpenny Handley and Tollard Royal. The drive through ‘the Chase’ is one of our favourites; neat parkland, well-managed woodland and peaceful villages with brightly-coloured and lovingly tended cottage gardens. Sometimes, when the world appears to have gone mad, the drive from Cranborne to Tollard Royal is all we need to unwind and ‘reboot’ that warm glow.

Beyond Tollard we drive along the improbably narrow lanes to Ashmore (Dorset’s highest village), where we may take the opportunity for some fresh air and a ‘leg stretch’ around the village pond, before winding our way down into the valley of the River Stour and the handsome larger village of Fontmell Magna. We head south through Iwerne MInster before exploring the picture-postcard brick & flint villages to the west of magnificent Hambledon Hill. 

We will then head for the high ground, where the rolling Dorset Downs meet the glorious Blackdown Hills. We reach the top of one of the hill climbs to find the Iron Age remains of Bulbarrow with panoramic views all round. Just below Bulbarrow, and seemingly in the ‘middle of nowhere’, the Fox Inn at Lower Ansty provides an opportunity for refreshment.

Beyond ‘The Fox’ we take in the thatched villages of Milton Abbas, Cerne Abbas (where the famous chalk figure of a naked giant, displaying his manhood for all to see, stands prominent on the hillside) and Sydling St Nicholas before reaching the attractive little town of Beaminster with its distinctive market cross. From Beaminster we head for Broadwindsor and the magnificent viewpoint of ‘Pilsdon Pen’, before driving through the handsome town of Bridport before heading towards the County Town of Dorchester, passing a huge concentration of Bronze Age burial mounds along the way.

From Dorchester, your starting point will determine the route home. Rest assured, it will be scenic.

Suitable for pick-ups from

• Bath

• Salisbury

  and surrounding area . . .

• Dorset

• Portland cruise terminal

• Southampton cruise terminal

Somerset is a county of great contrasts. From high hills and moorlands to mysterious lowlands and levels. Somerset’s best-known hills are the Mendip Hills (near Cheddar and Wells) and the hills of the Exmoor National Park, but there are other ranges of hills; lonely, idyllic and undeveloped that are well worth a day of anyone’s time …..

Our route takes us through mysterious Glastonbury, nestling in the shadow of the Mendip Hills. Learn about the ‘Pitchfork Rebellion’ as we climb gently onto the long ridge of the Polden Hills (the first of our secret hills) and admire the far-reaching views on either side over Sedgemoor and the ‘Levels’.

From the Poldens we descend to meet the Bristol Channel near Bridgewater and then drive south to the village of North Petherton and begin our exploration of the next range of secret hills, the Quantock Hills. After taking a break at the National Trust’s Fyne Court, our route heads onwards and upwards to the summit crest of the Quantocks. The crest of the Quantocks rewards the visitor with great sea views, all the way across to Wales, and also the near certainty of spotting herds of native Red Deer and wild ponies.

Our route down from the crest takes us to Nether Stowey, where Coleridge composed the ‘Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’ and ‘Kubla Khan’. Our route follows the coast road through the lovely Quantock villages and down to the sea at the picturesque harbour at Watchet, and a longer break.

From Watchet we head across to Blue Anchor Bay and then up through the tiny villages of the Brendon Hills to the summit viewpoint of Ralegh’s Cross. Our descent through the Brendons takes us to the attractive Somerset town of Wiveliscombe, then from Wiveliscombe we skirt the county town of Taunton and climb to the top of the lonely Blackdown Hills, a landscape of rolling hills and pockets of deciduous woodland that appears to be unchanged from a bygone era. 

From the Blackdown Hills we will head homeward past Cadbury Castle (an Iron Age hillfort long associated with the legend of King Arthur), Ham Hill and Montacute - the sandstone hills of south Somerset.

Suitable for pick-ups from

 Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and surrounding area, Exeter and surrounding area, Somerset, Dorset