Location

Prides Cottage is in Child Okeford, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty nestling under the Iron Age fort of Hambledon Hill and a walk away from the River Stour and Hod Hill in rural Dorset. The village (located between Blandford Forum and Shaftesbury) has two pubs, a post office (with café), village stores, and an organic farm shop (with café). In 2009 it won the North Dorset District Council special award for previous winners of the large best kept village section.

The nearest station is Gillingham (10 miles) which has frequent direct trains to London (two hours) and Exeter. Other parts of the UK can be reached by changing at Salisbury. There are taxis at Gillingham and in the village, as well as buses, so you can holiday without a car.

Things to do

• Walking and cycling. Footpaths lead directly from Prides Cottage which is on a national cycleway
• Stately homes, glorious countryside, pretty villages and towns such as Shaftesbury and Sherborne to explore
• Beaches (Studland, Brownsea Island, Poole and the Jurassic Coast, about a 40 minute drive)
• Fishing, horse riding, golf
• Attractions such as Monkey World, the Arne nature reserve, Gorcombe Farm Outdoor Pursuits, Bovington Tank Museum and the Fleet Air Arm Museum
• Within easy reach of Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester, Longleat Safari Park, Salisbury and Bath