Thomas Hardy was born in the neighbouring hamlet of Upper Bockhampton. Hardy’s Cottage is within walking distance from us. Indeed, Hardy frequented Puddletown - which he called ‘Weatherbury’ in his novels, notably ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’ - where many members of his family lived.
It is likely that Hardy visited Ilsington Lawn regularly as it is believed that his childhood doctor dwelled in this house and held his surgery here.
Ilsington Lawn is also situated close to Athelhampton (within a mile). Here stands the beautiful Jacobean Athelhampton Hall or Athelhampton House.
A couple of miles beyond our southern heart of Dorset bed & breakfast and holiday cottage location is the village of Tolpuddle, the birthplace of the Trades Union movement which resulted from the deportation sentence of the six farm labourers subsequently known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs. The Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival is held annually during the summer.
Another local attraction that brings in thousands of enthusiasts from around the world is the Great Dorset Steam Fair near Blandford Forum.
Maiden Castle (Britain’s largest and most complex Iron Age hill fort), Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, Monkey World, Bovington Tank Museum, the Cerne Giant, Abbotsbury swannery, Weymouth & Portland (venue for the 2012 Olympic Games sailing events), Purbeck with Corfe Castle and the Saxon town of Wareham, Studland, Poole, Bournemouth, the stunning Dorset coastline known as the Jurassic Coast (a World Heritage Site)...
Please phone us on 01305 848003 or mob. 07761246670
or email at ilsingtonlawn@gmail.com
for any further information or booking enquiries.
