It’s a beautiful place to visit, especially on a summer’s day. Very peaceful and relaxed, you can take you time wandering around the lake - at least two loops to do both halves of the path and see everything. There’s also a small kitchen garden with flowers, vegetables and fruit which is pretty to see. Excellent food and drinks in the onsite cafe - would recommend the sticky ginger cake - but you can also get takeaway sandwiches from the pantry or bring in your own picnic. The tickets were a little on the expensive side at £16.50pp (if you book online there’s a £1.50 discount) but understand they are very focused on conservation and ecology, which probably comes with higher maintenance costs. All in all a nice day out.

Great place for an enjoyable stroll. Lovely lakes setting, interesting sculptures, some you can sit on. Dogs are allowed through the majority of the area. Great cafe too for lunch. Plenty of parking.

Truly amazing place. The whole experience has been well thought through and implemented. From the opening sculpture reminding how important nature is to our wellbeing to the carefully placed seating where you can sit and enjoy the calm. A number of the sculptures are interactive and I particularly enjoyed the one where you lay flat on a suspended round cushioned platform to watch the clouds drift by to the sound of water, the gentle rustling of trees and the watch the wildlife. Sculpture by the Lakes well exceeded my expectations.

Peace and tranquility. I have visited twice now and have been very impressed both times. While there were many more people there the second visit, it still didn't feel crowded. This is a wonderful place to visit to breathe deep and unload. Sit by the river or lay on the grass, wander through the formal gardens and read the plaques in the path. There are many places to sit and ponder or just enjoy the sculpture. The whole place is cleverly laid out and the art is thought provoking. I will be going back again and again.

The sculpture park was relaxing and visually stimulating venue. I loved how tranquility of it was. The vibe of the place is incredible, very chilled, but with a lot to see and great walking around looking at all the art The place is incredible. The coffee was good in the cafe and we had a picnic.

Wow, what a lovely, relaxing and visually stimulating venue. I loved how tranquil it was, the vibe of the place is incredible, very chilled, but with a lot to see. Being a huge owl fan I loved the many barn owl sculptures. I also loved the metal egg swing bench near the river and the large round swing bed/seat near the lake. The place is incredible. The coffee was good and the Kinder brookie was excellent too.

Had a amazing day here walking around their lake. Awesome sculptures set in and around their grounds. Coffee shop and restaurant food looked amazing but didn't eat there. But take your own food and have a picnic at one of the seating area's. We went on a week day out of school holidays so it didn't feel busy.oh and if you book online you pay £15 instead of £16.50

Lovely gardens with beautiful flowers and water features. The tea room is light and airy with a tasty menu. Good clean facilities and plenty of car parking. Their is also an interesting house to visit on the grounds but on this occasion we didn't go in.

We recently visited Athelhampton House & Gardens for a family day out, but decided not to go inside the house itself, as we had newborns and a toddler with us. Instead, we enjoyed the beautiful outdoor spaces. We spent a relaxing time in the secluded picnic area before exploring the impressive grounds, which featured a lovely walled garden, several water features, and plenty of exotic plants to admire. For lunch, we purchased food from the restaurant. Because we were sitting outside, the staff had to specially cater for us, as they normally only serve food indoors. This meant our meals came in takeaway containers, which wasn’t ideal, but understandable. My wife ordered two sandwiches (Cheese & Pickle, and Chicken Mayo) with side salads and drinks. The total came to nearly £30, and while the sandwiches were tasty, I felt they were a bit overpriced at £8-9 each. That said, the staff were polite and very attentive, and we had a lovely afternoon overall. We’d definitely consider coming back in the future - especially when we’re not navigating the gardens with a double pushchair!

One of the best houses to visit. You are left alone to walk around at your own pace and time. Was greated just inside the house with a very nice lady who had a lovely bubbling personality. The gardens are very good and large. The food in the restaurant is very good and reasonably priced. Well worth a visit and we'll worth the entrance price.

The house has an amazinly preserved Tudor kitchen, rivalling Hampton Court's. The rest of the house is also gorgeous with lots of original Tudor elements, along with later additions and adaptations. The gardens are stunning, with lots of little nooks and almost secret little gardens all cobbled together; perfect for exploring one sunny afternoon. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Lovely little restaurant and gift shop too. Spacious car park, with some electric charging points.

A very interesting house and gardens not too big or too small just right. The house has 29 rooms to view and the gardens take about an hour to view. You can take photos I. The house most unexpected. The tea room is lovely and allows dogs, they are also allowed in the gardens but not in the house. Plenty of parking including enough space for us to park our 6.36m long motorhome. All the staff were very friendly and you are encouraged to ask questions of them. I would really recommend his house and garden.

Lovely gardens even in the rain. The cafe is nice and has a decent size menu. The staff are lovely and the gardener is very knowledgeable

Lovely gardens with many quiet corners. River Piddle runs through. If you drive ev you can get one hour of free charging in the parking area.

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

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.

This is a really stunning site not just a visit history but also to visit some of the wildlife. I saw a wonderful apex predator bird flying and doing it's thing for some 15 minutes and was just mesmerised. I tried to get some picture of the bird, not sure if anyone can make out what it is from them. This is very calm and peaceful place (can be best to dress for windy conditions though) and I feel incredibly grounded here.

This is a fabulous Iron Age fort that has various walking tracks up and around it. Best to keep dogs on a lead nearer the higher ridges as there are sheep grazing. There are lovely views of the surrounding countryside and Dorchester to the north. Come in from the south and visit the gorgeous church in the hamlet of Winterborne Monkton. The church is really worth a visit. Open at the weekend after 9am.

Dramatic Iron Age hillfort, one of the largest of its type in Europe, free to visit and well managed by English Heritage. A reasonably sized free parking area is situated a short distance from the base of the hillfort. The paths are quite clearly marked, though unsurfaced, so take care if visiting after rain. It takes a good 20 minutes to fully explore the site and complete a full circuit of the ramparts. On a clear day, the walk to the top is rewarded with impressive views over Poundbury and the surrounding countryside. Sheep graze the site to control the grass, so dogs must be kept on leads. Information boards around the site explain more about its history and features, though some of these had been damaged by sheep when I visited in April 2025.

Good for a walk. Amazing views. There is no shop or store so bring your own food and drink. Car park was small. Weekdays it's fine. It's a good place to visit.

Historical place with beautiful countryside views. Well behaved sheeps outside the fence as well

Visited October 2025. Small car park with free parking. Quiet, nice walk up the hill. The place is signposted with useful and interesting literature concerning the history of the castle. Be careful, can get slippery in winter/Autumn months even if its not raining, due to condensation. Easy walk. A good 2/3 hours would be more than enough. Also I would recommend getting a picnic while you admire the views of sheep meadows, fileds and the town in the distance.

One of the best hillforts you will see. As you walk around the edge of it with big drops on one side its easy to see for miles around. There's a pit hidden there with numerous stones used for sling shots. A lovely place to walk. If you take a dog have it on a lead because of the sheep.