This is a super little easy historical attraction to visit. Not far from the main part of Dorchester town, this is free to visit. There are plenty of historical facts and info across the site. It is the size of a small kids' park, it is okay to walk your dog round too. The mosaic section is covered, and you view through glass for its protection. Really interesting site, especially if you're interested or studying history.

Great place. Very nicely kept.

Bit of a shame it's only open for guided visits but I guess it would get wrecked otherwise.

A gem is well worth a visit. Location just north of county offices and lowdown. Look for the earth bank above the lovely river area.

This is a fascinating site with good access. There are informative, clear interpretation boards. The building covering the site was closed the day I visited. However, the excavated site can be clearly seen through the large glass walls.

Cool thing to look at, just don’t read any information unless you want disappointment. Nothing is original, it’s actually laughable.

This was a bit of a find. It was very well presented and very intriguing. Well worth a visit, but if you are visiting and not on a tour don't expect to spend more than 30 minutes there. But it is worth a visit.

This is a very impressive local museum with many top quality display areas but, for me, the visit was spoiled by the arcane charging system. We live 170 miles from Dorchester and were visiting solely to see the museum's current entertaining and informative Jane Austen exhibition. At the cash desk, I was frankly shocked to find that this would cost us £15 each. As avid museum visitors, we found such a charge for a local museum, albeit a rather good one, pretty extraordinary. I was already feeling grumpy when the very pleasant young woman at the till insisted that I must give my full name and email before I could have a ticket. I suggested that it was very unusual for museums to demand personal details before selling a ticket but she explained, very politely, that she could not issue a ticket without these. This left me totally bemused until I later received an email with a link allowing me to claim an annual museum pass. Neither of us had seen any obvious indication at the desk that even the casual visitor had to buy an annual pass to get in, and this was not explained by the assistant. Living so far away, we would certainly not be visiting again within a year and, in my opinion and based on my experience of local museums, £15 is an eyewateringly high price for a single entry. The most liberal local authorities offer free entry, as does my home town of Bedford to its equally impressive Higgins museum and gallery. Some charge £3 to £6 or £7. I would associate £15 with a major collection, which, lovely though it is, this is not

Being a history lover (weirdly it bored me at school 55-60yrs ago) I enjoyed my couple of hours here , especially the Roman mosaics, Victorian hall and the library. The building itself is also worth a second look especially the windows. The cafe looked nice but I didn't use it so can't comment , likewise the toilets.

Spent the day in Dorchester and explored the Dorset Museum & Art Gallery - truly fantastic! This museum is one of the best we've visited, with four floors of surprises around every corner…

What a fantastic place!! There is so much to see, from the prehistoric Dorset coast to Thomas Hardy connections. We were interested in the travelling Gladiators in Britain exhibition which was brilliant. Make sure you allow plenty of time to look round but the ticket does allow you to go back within 12 months.

Very disappointed that it closes at 17:00 hours yet at 16:10 they refused to let me enter because I was 10 minutes late and they needed to close the rooms. Also the cafe doors were locked. So you don’t close at 5:00, you close as soon as the last person leaves as long as it is before closure time. The woman just said come back tomorrow. I won’t bother!! Be aware that traffic getting in to and out of Dorchester is horrendous. I saw the beautiful church next door and got to wander around the local shops. Everyone else I met was friendly and helpful. Shame.

Great museum, lots of Jurassic coast fossils and sea dinosaurs. A fantastic collection of archaeological finds from local locations, Bronze and Iron Age, Roman and Medieval. Human skeletons and fascinating local history including Roman mosaics, funny phalluses and a hoard of Roman coins. Enjoyed the art gallery too especially the Alfred Wallis paintings.

Ticket is valid for a year. Staff friendly & knowledgeable We were directed to exactly the section we were most interested in - Thomas Hardy. Fabulous collection, wish we had more time

Fantastic Museum definitely worth going. staff members were really friendly and helpful with five floors of amazing displays. And a view of Dorchester on top was first class. Good value ticket valid for 12 months so will come again 👏🏻👏🏻

Good value Museum of the Dorset Regiment. Set over 3 floors of the Keep, you even have access to the roof where there are some excellent views of Dorchester and surrounds. The Keep was originally the Armoury of the Dorsets who were based in the town. In 2007, it was amalgamated, with other Regiments, into The Rifles. Well worth a visit. A 15 min walk from Fairfield Car Park down Cornwall Road (B3147)

Really great museum with great friendly staff. Some fantastic displays on multiple levels all about the Dorset regiments. I'm biased as I really like uniforms but I love the uniforms with all the relative props from the era, such a great way to display the history. It's over 5 floors and short of the battlements with great views across Dorchester, every floors packed. I especially loved the gift shop as it wasn't extortionate like some museums so it's affordable to give the kids a reward. There's also some great interactive displays from handling real deactivated guns, battle table with soldiers, brass rubbing and colouring. Love this museum! Well done

Superb Military Museum, hundreds of interesting artefacts. Really well laid out, covering mainly Dorset and Devon regiments in all their theatre's of war. Highly recommend a visit and the views from the roof are excellent. Good value for money, a nice little shop and free parking. We went midweek, no queues, no problem seeing all the exhibits.

A nice small military museum of local regiments housed in a Victorian monumental tower. You are able get good looks over the area from the roof.

A great museum and well worth the price of admission. Go with plenty of time so that you can enjoy all the history, artifacts, and displays. It's crazy how much they're able to pack into just 3 floors. Go on a nice day for a great view of Dorchester from the roof!

Had a lovely time here while visiting Dorchester on holiday!! Run by volunteers it's a lovely museum in an old Keep and Prison!! It's the story of the Dorchester regiment and their history over hundreds of years! You can also go up the top of the Keep which has lovely views of the countryside!!

When we arrived, it cost more than what was advertised online. Lots of information but pricey for less than 1hour 30mins in there. Was given a cute little Easter Half Term quiz for our child. Little gift shop. Stairs upstairs are narrow, not good if mobility issues.

We visited while on holiday. It was a good visit and our son did enjoy it. I did find it more on the expensive side considering there wasn’t loads and loads to do. But It would be perfect for a child who adores dinosaurs as there are lots of factual information and things they can learn. Wouldn’t recommend for people who struggle with mobility as little steps and narrow staircase however I would recommend overall. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Small but excellent for young children who loved the displays and the fossils.

Worth to be visited, not too expressive, as I expected. Lots of different marine fossils from the Jurassic period. There are also modern shells and skeletons on display. The museum has a small collection of dinosaur fossils on show (such as a large dinosaur coprolite, a Megalosaurus skeleton and a Chinese dinosaur

Disappointed for the price. 3 rooms, lucky get 30mins walking around. Pletty of good information, but way to high admission price, shocking price for kids. Added price listed.

I was nervous to visit after reading the reviews on google so was pleasantly surprised. We paid £14 per adult and £10? for a child. So £38 for the 3 of us. It is a lot of money and I am sure *would put many off. For our rainy day in Dorchester it was a choice between other attractions (county museum, Tutankhamen, china warriors etc) which felt like a similar ballpark and our 6 year old requested dinosaurs! Was it worth the money? It depends on how much you are into dinosaurs!!! We were met with a friendly welcome. The museum had 3 rooms absolutely ram full of dino facts, models and artefacts and videos. I think for me if anything I found the amount of information overwhelming 🤭 but there was definitely plenty to look at and do. We all enjoyed the museum. I think if you have someone that loves reading and facts they will get a lot out of the displays but equally our 6 year old who will only read a little, enjoyed the models and interactive stations and the quiz. « I loved it » was their verdict. Its a small museum and if you have kids that will whip round and not take things in, it maybe isn’t big enough to keep you busy very long. For us we had about 1hr 15 mins in there and could easily have spent longer. If I could change anything… a picnic area in the yard would have been great to break our visit up. When you have littles with you anything that helps you extend a visit is really parent gold. We certainly didn’t feel ripped off but a little more affordable (in the realms of a family ticket deal?) would make this a no brainer.

Overpriced! I went with my 3 year old niece expecting a dinosaur adventure but I was sadly disappointed. While they offer many interesting facts, the whole thing is contained within 3 1/2 small rooms and takes, at most, 30 minutes to look round. The exhibits are tired and sparse. If you charged us a fiver each to get in, I probably would have expected what we got, but £14 for me and £10 for the 3 year old is outrageous and dishonest. Do not go to the museum if you’re looking for a dinosaur experience, you won’t find it in Dorchester. I have given 2 stars solely for the historic information scattered about.

A rather lovely re-fashioned henge. Just down the road from the very imposing and magnificent Maiden Castle. Visit both - it's a no brainer!

Great bit of history and a wonderful place for a walkabout. People walking dogs and children. Nice quiet feel. Excellent signpost and information boards. Big heavy trees around gf or shade and rain cover. Could use a couple of benches though.

Good park in the town. It was empty when we went there in the afternoon. Good place to take kids. We took a buggy inside. You can't take buggy to the steep areas but you can roam around it.

What a lovely spot to stop off. There was a vegan market on the day we popped by. Super. Parking just across the road.

Sunny day Wednesday .A short walk from Dorchester South Station.. just beyond Police Station... May be 4000 yes old. Used by the Romans.... English Civil War defence fort 1642 to 1648... Scene of execution 1706.…...

Located near to Dorchester South train station, this archaeological site is well maintained. There are a number of information boards explaining the Rings. There's one seat an rubbish bin on site, along with two dog business bins. Toilets are nearby, at the Dorchester South train station, alternatively there's Toilets at Dorchester Market; which is across the road. The site is also a short walk to the town centre. The site is open to the weather.

What a wonderful evening in a really atmospheric location, watching Tess of the D'Ubervilles in the evening sun. Great venue, imposing grassed walls all but surround you. Will be back again soon to explore further

A great little find. We sat in the beer garden and enjoyed a great lunch that only took about 10 mins to arrive after ordering and was delicious. The staff were very friendly despite being very busy and very happy to help. The plates were cleared promptly , and the lady chatted to us about the area. The desserts were scrumptious and delivered quickly with a smile and looked fantastic and tasted it. Lots of parking, great beers and some nice zero alcohol options.

You know when you go to a good pub with good grub 1) you have to book a table with a least a week's notice, especially if you like a Sunday Roast 2) The local whispers tell you it's good 👍 3) Carpark is always full when you drive past!! Great Sunday roast,meats were tasty and just right💪,roasties were sublime👍,cheese and leek in sauce was scrummie....💥oh and good beer and amazing atmosphere and friendly staff as well❤️

Great pub, plenty of parking, food was good, service okay but very busy on the day we went. Dog friendly which is nice and a lovely garden area with climbing frame for the kids. Will be back.

What a brilliant find! Lovely atmosphere, the food was absolutely delicious and our waitress was very friendly and efficient. We were on holiday in the area and found this pub on a Google search. So pleased we did! Meals served all day and carvery starts again at 6. Not sure what time the carvery is open during the day. We couldn't fault this pub for good food, reasonably priced with a great atmosphere. Totally 5 stars!

The Sun Inn was one of the places that we've been saying we must visit since moving here a year ago, but life happens and it kept getting delayed, finally visited and all I can say is.... Wished we had visited far sooner. We came for the carvery and it was absolutely delicious. the meats and vegetables were cooked to perfection, the service was awesome, friendly yet professional and nothing seemed like an issue. If your any where near the Sun Inn, this is the place to be for a good meal, and definitely worth a drive if your not.

We drove through Dorchester on our way to Devon and needed somewhere to stop for lunch, so glad we found the sun inn! Lovely food, friendly staff, great service and a cute little play area in the garden where our 2 year old could run and stretch his legs. The perfect little rest stop :)

We visited for a carvery after reading the glowing reviews, but our experience couldn’t have been further from what was promised. From the start, service was non-existent – we had to ask for someone to even take our order. When we went up for the carvery, there was no one to serve, and after an awkward five-minute wait, a man eventually appeared to carve the meat. To make matters worse, we weren’t even allowed to decide where or how much gravy we wanted – it was poured straight onto the meat, leaving the vegetables completely dry. The food itself was nothing short of dreadful: stale Yorkshire puddings, raw potatoes, and “cheesy leeks” bizarrely bulked out with peas. We hardly ate any of it and quickly asked for the bill, only to be ignored not once, but twice. In the end, we had to walk up to the bar ourselves. At no point did any member of staff check on us, ask if the food was okay, or show even the slightest interest in customer service. Almost £50 for a meal like that feels like daylight robbery. Terrible food, poor service, and an experience we won’t be repeating.

Pleasant friendly service and very nice coffee. Two lattes, one with an extra shot for £8.60 to takeaway. No reduction on takeaways. Nice decor and large interesting courtyard garden.

I’ve visited quite a few Lounges, and they’re usually consistently good quality, so I thought I’d play it safe and come here for a Full English breakfast. Unfortunately, this was a big disappointment. The eggs were underdone and runny, the tomato wasn’t cooked, and the sausages were practically raw. To make things worse, the cappuccino was mostly foam with only a few sips of coffee, and the wait time was the longest I’ve ever had at a Lounge. Sadly, this experience has put me off. I’ll be avoiding Vivo Lounge in future. On a postive note the waitress was lovely, and the place has a good atmosphere.

A lovely place, me and my friend went there after a day out in Dorchester. They had amazing food and lovely staff. They were very kind to us when we said about allergies, and helped us to get what we wanted!

Vivo Lounga had something for everyone. Their menu is very inclusive and the vegan options are endless. The staff is super friendly and helpful, the deco is very tasteful with some beautiful furniture and interesting pictures adorning the wall. The food itself was superb and quick to arrive. The meat options and the vegan options were equally well prepared and presented. All in all, you MUST have a meal here for a great time!

A decent place enough route to the train station. Fresh orange juice is great if the machine is working. Good with dogs, popular family venue for all ages. Got books too!

Beth was amazing, about advising regarding our Grandson's food. He is sadly Gluten and dairy Free, he also can't eat onions. We would highly recommend. We were so very well looked after.

Love the decor on the walls gives it a unique feel to the place. The food not really top notch but if you want to sit there and use WIFI while you have a coffee and read a book in a private corner or couch then that is a place to go.

I'm a big fan of the beef ramen at your restaurant and order it frequently. I’ve noticed that during delivery, the noodles can become overcooked due to being in the hot broth. Would it be possible to separate the noodles and broth for delivery? I believe this would help maintain the dish’s wonderful quality.

Food served fresh, hot, and tasty. Always go for the same ones 42, and 30 and they never disappoint :) good portions as well, we get to take it home. Love leftovers. Attentive and very friendly staff. Accommodating to requirements as well so if you don’t want something too spicy, they can do it to your taste. Also love love the banana pudding with miso ice cream! Will definitely be back for this 🥰

You get what you pay for and here that means excellent service, lovely atmosphere and most importantly delicious food. High quality, fresh ingredients cooked to order with a huge range of dishes that are better than the run of the mill options.

This was our second visit to Wagamama Dorchester, and once again, Jessica(Jess) made it exceptional. She welcomed us with warmth, served us with care, and her knowledge of the menu is outstanding. If you visit, definitely ask for Jess—she truly elevates the experience

The service was excellent and really good. The layout was really fun. The food was so fresh and loved the different flavours.

Absolutely gutted that Pad Thai has been removed from the menu.. really? It’s an Asian standard.. was offered something similar apparently.. turned up smaller than usual with 4 minuscule prawns and 5 tiny slithers of chicken. Why deliver poor food because of cost cutting? Am I a satisfied customer? Absolutely not and nor will I be palmed off with a less than adequate dinner for £15. I left it and walked out ( after being offered something else) I wanted a pad Thai.. oh and by the way I mentioned it on my social media that there is no longer a pad Thai on offer.. lots of upset people. I will not return to Wagas for monthly treat any more .. one very upset customer!! (Just wish I had taken a pic )

The food exceeded our expectations, with flavours, textures and experience galore. Very knowledgeable server with the ability to answer and expand upon all our queries. The location is great with accessible parking across the road and other venues in the vicinity. Intimate venue compared to other Wagamama restaurants, which was pleasant.

Simple pub with multiple real ales, plus a handful of other options for non beer drinkers. It probably is more for those who like beer than anything else. Superb selection and ever changing, often while you finish your first pint a new option will arrive, always good service and decent price too. Easily the best pub in Dorchester.

Excellent hidden away pub,, the owner/barman obviously knows his beers. Ask for advice and you'll be given guidance and what suits your pallet and be given a well kept beer. The pub allows board games and has that inclusive atmosphere that is often sought by smaller pubs. You'll come in here for one and stay for a couple, you can't really argue with that.

They kindly let us bring our fish and chips to eat outside. The beer and wine were excellent, staff even better. Cant recommend enough. Enjoy.

Ale condition isn't as good as it used to be. Shame, as it used to be great here when Nigel ran things.

“Fantastic pub with a warm, welcoming atmosphere. The staff are friendly, and there’s an excellent selection of beers and spirits to suit all tastes. This is exactly how a proper pub should be — cosy, inviting, and full of character chris was a right laugh”

Fantastic place. If you're looking for live entertainment, a good atmosphere and some cracking micro brews. This is the place to go

Such a wonderful place ! Every time we visit Dorchester we come here So welcoming Dog friendly Great beer 🍺 Lovely staff Great vibe All round great place to visit and savour the atmosphere 💎❤️😍

Popped in for a nice pint of cider with my family and ended up getting these delicious loaded waffle fries! Selection of 3 different toppings and they were absolutely incredible So much flavour cooked perfectly and served very quickly, thank you to Adam and Iqbal for your brilliant customer service and food recommendation!

Had a mixed experience here, the beer produced on site was delicious, the service was fine until I said the chicken was burnt in my dish. She said she will speak to the chef. Did not come back until we had finished. Only to say that it is grilled like that. I said there is a difference between grilled and burnt. In the end they did not charge me for my meal. I would go again for the beer and chips

The service, atmosphere and place was beautiful. We were however disappointed in the food the steak was prepared well but for £23.50 you couldn’t actually taste the steak all you can taste is the charcoal even if you tried scrapping it off the taste was there it was bitter,/burnt taste and then it’s an extra £2 for sauce I would have thought the £23.50 would come either with the sauce anyways so for me it was overpriced for how the steak came so bitter/burnt. The Chimichurri Sauce wasn’t fresh , it was dark brown n salty it just didn’t look like it at all even the taste, it’s meant to be green refreshing and vibrant, what I got wasn’t appealing ,but I was so hungry I just put the sauce all over to hopefully get rid of the burnt/bitter taste from the steak but it didn’t.

Decided to use our “buy a gift meal for two” voucher here after looking at lots of other places we could have used it. We actually felt quite disappointed with our evening. We turned up to quite a noisy bar area, so loud I could barely hear the staff behind the bar asking about our table reservation. We then got shown to our table in quite an empty area of the restaurant, to be sat right next to another couple so closely, that I had to ask to move our table over as we couldn’t both get into the chairs. The waitress offered to get us water and walked off. I wasn’t sure if we ordered off the main menu or if there was a separate one due to the voucher. The waitress returned and explained it was certain meals off a different menu which was fine. She then walked off again. Upon her return, she took our drinks orders and said she’d give us a minute to choose our food even though we were ready to order. Our drinks came quite quickly, and our orders were taken (dessert at the same time) but the tray our drinks had been brought over on was left on the table along with the menu….. The food came out rather quickly, which was fine, but I had to move the tray and menu out the way for the plates to be placed down…thinking they would take it away afterwards but they didn’t, just walked off. So we had to place it on the radiator/windowsill to be able to eat our food. The food looked good and tasted nice. Unfortunately, what we didn’t like was that my partner’s plate was taken away as he had finished before me, and for some reason they’d decided that this meant we must be ready for dessert. I was still eating the last few mouthfuls of my main when suddenly the dessert arrived, and was put down on the table by the member of staff before I had even finished. Again, he then just walked off. We felt this was rude, and I was then sat with my plate on the table in the way, whilst trying to eat my dessert. I felt rushed to have it quite quickly after having my main, as the dessert was warm, so needed eating before they went cold (churros). As soon as dessert was finished, the waitress appeared again with the card machine in her hand, asked if we planned to have anymore drinks (bear in mind I still had half a pint of Pepsi at this point) and when my partner replied no, she proceeded to explain the food was covered by the voucher, we needed to pay for our drinks and produced the bill. My partner made a comment saying “I don’t remember asking for the bill” but we are not sure if it was ignored or the waitress didn’t hear (due to the noise volume/music). We felt rushed and the whole experience was around an hour, from sitting down to the moment we got up and left - not what 2 parents want when they have a child free evening! We felt rushed and almost an inconvenience, even though no one else in the area that we were sat in was eating at the time and only 4 other tables were sat at. Unfortunately it has put us off coming back and next time we would choose to go somewhere we felt more welcome and not so rushed.

Although offered a discount for an appalling evening I’ve come away feeling completely ripped off. Of the 9 dishes ordered in total, 5 were wrong. The steaks are overpriced and a very poor cut of meat and we could count less than 10 chips served with the meal. The sauces were delivered to the table after we had eaten! At a price of over 20 odd pound per steak it certainly wasn’t cheap. Even when a discount was given the bill still came back wrong. Although the manager was pleasant the whole experience was a disappointment. It’s simple, serve good hot food, listen to the customer, make the plate look more appealing and serve a decent size portion so you don’t come away hungry. Also please remember to clear plates off the table when finished eating and don’t leave unhappy customers waiting half an hour to pay the bill that was wrong anyway! Very sorry we went there and will not recommend to anyone especially for a big celebration. No excuse as the restaurant was half empty anyway. I genuinely never ever complain but feel this really wasn’t acceptable I’m sorry to say

This was our first visit here and we were super impressed. Charlotte was our server and she was amazing. Very personable, looked after our requirements with lots of personality, care and humour. Top class service in a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. On top of that, the food was delicious and plenty of it. Don't understand the few bad reviews, that's a major surprise. I'd like to think they are rare exceptions. We will return here again sometime when we will be back in the area, will recommend to family and friends too.

We visited Brewhouse in Dorchester for a gin master class taster. We really enjoyed learning about different gins, the flavours and mixers. Alliyah was a great host and really looked after us, thank you. We finished with a nice meal. Would recommend.