Blandford Forum is a market town in Dorset, 15 miles north of Poole. I’d read the town was noted for its Georgian architecture so I was keen to take a look. Approaching Blandford Forum we passed through pretty villages with quaint names such as Sturminster Marshall and Charlton Marshall. Arriving in the town, we parked in the Stour Meadows car park just behind the Hall & Woodhouse brewery which we found had free parking.
From the car park we followed a path through the Stour Meadows alongside the River Stour which led us to a blue metal bridge taking us into the centre of town in no more than 10 minutes.
Heading towards the market place we spotted an old coaching inn called The Greyhound. Its welcoming terrace was adorned with tubs of flowers and hanging baskets and we were tempted indoors for a glass of the local Badger ale which has been brewed in the town since 1777. The interior of the pub had oodles of old world charm with its low ceilings and oak beams. Picking up a leaflet at the bar I found out that it’s possible to take tours of the brewery and enjoy a pint of Badgers ale or a soft drink afterwards. Definitely something for us to consider next time we are in the area. Details of the Badger brewery tours can be found here.
Along the high street we admired the Georgian architecture. Large parts of the town were destroyed by fire in 1731 and rebuilding work took place assisted by a donation from George II. To celebrate the town’s heritage a Georgian Fayre is held in the town centre in May each year.
Wandering through the town I was interested to look in the shop windows of Conyers, the oldest shop in the town. It’s not every day that I come across a gunsmith but Arthur Conyers gunsmiths, country outfitters and angling supplies has been trading in the same place since 1886 with an expansion to the shop next door. One of their staff worked in the shop from the age of 15 and learnt the trade, continuing to service guns for field sports enthusiasts until his death at the age of 83. Surrounding the market place there are a variety of independent shops and cafes alongside national retailers such as Boots the Chemist which are found on most high streets.
Moving on, we admired the parish church of St. Peter and St Paul which is located across the square. The church was built between 1732 and 1739 in a classical design and features a cupola on top of its tower. It is one of the few Georgian churches in England outside of London. Directly in front of the church stands the Fire Monument which was erected to mark the rebuilding of the town centre following the great fire of 1731.
We continued our walk through the town glancing in more small shops with my husband treating himself to a book in one of them. We then made our way back to the car after a very pleasant afternoon in Blandford Forum.
If we have an opportunity to return to Blandford Forum in the future it would be interesting to visit the Royal Signals Museum on the outskirts of the town. This museum is the National Museum of Army Communications and is based in Blandford Camp, a working military base. If you might consider visiting the Royal Signals Museum please remember to take either a photo driving licence or passport as necessary ID is required to enter.
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Lovely, some of the happiest days of my life were spent in Blandford Forum. I lived there for five years back in the late seventies/early eighties. Beautiful area, thanks for bringing back happy memories.
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It’s my pleasure Sandra. It’s so nice to know that this post brought back some fond memories for you. What a lovely place to have lived for a few years.
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Dorset is absolutely charming!
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It certainly is, thank you for your kind words.
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Blandford Forum is so beautiful and is now on my travel list.
I love the old rustic cozy vibes of the place.
Also, I have never had Badger ale and now I’m curious to find out what it is.
Thank you for your lovely post. I always enjoy reading your blog.
🙂
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It’s my pleasure Fizzysun. I’m sure you would enjoy a visit to Blandford Forum with a refreshing glass of beer!
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Wonderful pix!
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Thanks Angela for your much appreciated thoughts.
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Every place you visit is written up and illustrated through pictures so the reader wants to be in that place with you enjoying the tour. However, that not being possible we are grateful to you for giving us so many holiday experiences vicariously. 🙂
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It’s so nice to eat my breakfast and wake up to such amazing words, they mean so much. Thank you and of course I’m pleased that you continue to enjoy my travel writing Ian. Marion
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Blandford Forum is so beautiful and is now on my travel list.
I love the old rustic cozy vibes of the place.
Also, I have never had Badger ale and now I’m curious to find out what it is.
Thank you for your lovely post. I always enjoy reading your blog.
🙂
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Thank you for commenting. I do hope you get to visit Blandford Forum before too long and perhaps have a glass of Badger Ale too!
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Its been a long time since I’ve been but I loved how quaint it was and full of flowers during the summer! I hope you had a nice time.
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Thanks for your welcome thoughts Claire. It’s a delightful small town and the summer flowers were beautiful.
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Thank you for a peak inside Blandford Forum. This name does not do it justice! The falaise in Dorset reminds me of Etretat, France (coast of Normandy).
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Thank you for your kind words. It’s a small town that we’d seen signposted numerous times and never stopped by. So glad we did on this occasion!
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I enjoy the tidbits of history you give along with the current info and beautiful photos.
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That’s so kind of you to say that Helena, it mean a lot and I’m so pleased you enjoy reading my posts. Marion
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So nice to visit the small towns, not just the big cities. Small towns have a story to tell. Thanks for sharing. Allan
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That’s so true Allan, and we had driven past signposts to it many times before so we were so pleased to have taken a look on this occasion. Hope you are having a good weekend. Marion
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This place looks so cute! You have some lovely photos here xx
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Thank you Amy, it was a very pretty town to visit.
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it looks it. I love wandering around places like that xx
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Yes, me too. Hope you are having a nice weekend!
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One of those places we’ve driven past so many times but never visited, may have to correct that now. Love Dorset though, such an under-rated county.
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It was the same with us, but I’m glad we made a point of stopping off and spending a few hours there as it’s certainly an attractive small town. Hope you’re having a good weekend Jonno.
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The buildings and streets seem so quaint and cozy… Glad you enjoyed your time there 🙂
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Thank you Ayunda. It was such an attractive town with some interesting architecture and I’m pleased we had an opportunity to visit.
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Hello there,
I wish you could visit Royal Signals Museum Visit Nepal 2020
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Thanks again, I’ll hopefully get there before too long.
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Hello there,
I wish you could visit Royal Signals Museum Visit Nepal 2020
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I definitely want to and will promise to write a post about it after visiting. Thank you for taking an interest in this post, one day I would also like to visit Nepal and write about your beautiful country to my many readers.
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