LA FOSSE Cranborne, Dorset (La-Fosse.com)
WHY IT’S GREAT While tourists swarm over the Jurassic coast to the south or shoot past on the busy A303 to the north, Cranborne and its surrounding villages are left peaceful and pretty as a picture. Once a royal hunting ground, the nearby countryside has remained relatively unspoiled and, if you explore it on foot or by bike (you can borrow these from La Fosse), you’ll discover Neolithic barrows, Iron Age hill forts, Roman roads, Norman churches and charming villages with names such as Sixpenny Handley, Fontmell Magna and Gussage St Michael.
HOME FROM HOME A cosy B&B tucked away in unspoiled countryside with Mark’s (right) satisfyingly eclectic menu