Dorset’s dramatic coastline is an outdoor sculpture gallery with arches, stacks and coves carved by Mother Nature herself. You can find your own Jurassic Park on beaches sprinkled with fossils and smuggler’s caves. There is plethora of activities to do or attractions to visit across the whole county.
With so many incredible places to visit in Dorset, this is the perfect place to have a holiday home or to come for a short break.
Wareham is a pretty Saxon riverside town in Dorset, and is the ideal holiday base to explore and experience Purbeck and the Jurassic Coast, and the surrounding Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Occupying a strategic site between the River Piddle to the north and the River Frome to the south, Wareham has a long and storied history. There is evidence of early Mesolithic activity dating to around 9000 BCE! Whilst there was likely a small Roman settlement here, the town picked up prominence with Anglo-Saxons who referred to the town as Werham from Old English wer (meaning “fish trap, a weir”) and ham (“homestead”) or hamm (“enclosure hemmed in by water”).
The town walls were likely built by Alfred the Great in the 9th century to defend the town from the Danes as part of his system of burgh towns. These defences are still standing, making Wareham one of only two Saxon walled towns in the country.
Now Wareham’s high street has plenty of individual and interesting shops from galleries and boutiques to vintage and gifts. For eating out you are spoilt for choice with nearly 30 cafés, pubs, restaurants and tea rooms catering for every taste and budget. The town’s Quay is a lively meeting place and has lots of events and activities, plus a weekly market. Throughout the year there are ongoing events – from film and music festivals to carnivals and river races – so you’ll always find something to entertain you during your visit.
