Cerne Abbas is a charming and quaint village that is world renowned for the Cerne Giant, a 180 ft high ancient chalk figure carved out into the steep sloping hillside above the village.

The origins of the Giant, now owned by the National Trust, are a mix of fact and speculation. Some believe that he represents the Roman god Hercules or that he is a Pagan fertility symbol. There is no known historical record before 1694, however recent studies suggest the giant was first made by the Saxons between AD 700 and 1100.

The village of Cerne Abbas grew around a great Benedictine Abbey, which was founded in AD 987 however the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century sadly saw the Abbey destroyed. Remains of the Abbey can still be seen today and are well worth a visit. Despite the loss of the Abbey the village managed to not just survive but prosper; Cerne’s fresh underground water supply fuelling a highly successful brewing trade. The quality beer was sold as far afield as London and was even exported to the Americas. Due to this industry, Cerne Abbas at one time boasted no fewer than 15 public houses with a population of only 1500. Waterpower also gave rise to many other small industries including milling and silk weaving.

Bob Marshall

Mary Ann Brussat

After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and drove to Stourhead House & Gardens in glorious sunshine. We signed in at the National Trust reception area before heading through to the house and gardens. It was around 20 years since our previous visit and it was our first visit to the house, which contains some interesting items. After our tour of the house we entered the gardens and found its colours to be spectacular. Before continuing on our journey to Cirencester, we lunched in the National Trust Cafe where to our pleasant surprise, we found the food options more varied than we have come to expect from a National Trust tea room.

Outside our hotel in Cirencester we parked in the drop off area as advised by the hotel. Mr C was harassed and told to move his car, by an angry van driver that happened to arrive a few moments after us. Mr C moved to a nearby space whilst we checked in to the hotel. We were given a lovely welcome pack which included local points of interest and a walking tour of Cirencester. After unloading we moved the car to a local pay & display car park, freshened up for dinner and made our way to the hotel bar.

I ordered a dry sherry, which the bar tender, after offering cider, eventually found with the help of Mr C.  I was then asked if I would like a 125, 175 or a 250 ml glass. At this point I gave up and said don’t bother whilst thinking that if you have got the drink in your chiller so you should know how to serve it. Mr C asked how we should pay the bill (his G&T) and the young man who was serving us hadn’t got a clue.

The restaurant turned out to be not quite our thing. The menu blended from starters to main courses with some options being either. We chose fishcakes which we thought would be a main course. It turned out to be starter size for Mr C and not even big enough for a main course for me with my small appetite. Although the meal was brief it was delicious. During our meal we got chatting to a couple on the table next to us and found that they had got married the Saturday before. She was struggling with her arm in a sling, having tripped up some steps and broken it on the Bank Holiday weekend just before the wedding.

When we had finished chatting, we stepped out of the chaos that was the hotel’s bar and dining arrangements into the calm of the street. We crossed the road to the Fleece Inn where we soaked up an enjoyable relaxing atmosphere.

After breakfast we headed to Stonehenge for which we had pre-booked tickets, arriving earlier than our ticket time but were able to go in due to the low number of visitors. I have never seen Stonehenge’s car park so quiet.

We booked in and collected our ticket to visit the stones (most of the site is open access). It was was refreshingly quiet, I put this down to no coach tours or travelers from abroad. It was a delight to be able to view the stones without large crowds. This more than made up for me not being able to visit them as part of my birthday celebrations last year.

The walking route has been changed since our previous visit and does not automatically take you past the Cursus. The new walk leads to a signboard that indicates several points of interest (and the amount of time needed to walk there) We chose the path to the Cursus before walking along it rather than retrace our steps.

Whilst viewing our surroundings a school group turned up and it was lovely to hear the school teacher instructing his pupils on how to walk and behave as they walked through the field full of cows. At one point as we walked along the path near to the Cursus, two bulls were having a head-butt tussle directly across the pathway in front of us, causing us to pause until they had moved far enough away from the path so that we could continue our walk to the stones safely.

It was amazing to see the stones so quiet, The first time I visited from school many years ago when I didn’t really appreciate what they were or the fact that at that time I was able to stand between the stones and look up at them. The sun. was playing on the stones turning them from grey to white. Back at the visitor centre, we enjoyed a picnic lunch from the cafe, eating it outside at one of the picnic tables.

After our visit we returned to Sherborne where we spent too much money in the cookshop before enjoying a slice of Dorset Apple cake accompanied by Elderflower Presse at a pavement table outside the Three Wishes Cafe. We then enjoyed a quiet moment soaking up the atmosphere on a bench overlooking Sherborne Abbey.

For our last night in Sherborne we dined in the hotel. Ben, who had been serving us during our stay, said his goodbyes as he would not be serving breakfast in the morning.

Our destination for the day of our anniversary was Forde Abbey, a place that we had not visited before. Our journey there was quirky – there were many sudden junctions and eroded markings and, for some reason, the SatNav has changed the way it navigates saying bear left/right when the junction is a left/right turn and when it states turn left/right it should say bear left/right. I upgraded to the latest map a couple of days before we travelled, before this the bear/turn directions seemed more accurate.

The gardens are wonderful and the architecture of the house and former Abbey interesting. A lovely herd of Ruby Red Devon cows were in a field just outside the boundary fence. The spectacular Centenary Fountain is the tallest powered fountain in England. We enjoyed lunch in the walled garden, sitting outside the undercroft. I chose cherry cake; it just had to be done. The staff were so happy to have recently opened and enjoying the visitors’ return.

On our way back to the hotel we detoured to Cerne Abbas to see the newly chalked giant on the hillside. We then visited the village to find the Holy Well and the Preaching Cross that are located within the burial grounds. The Holy Well was lovely and peaceful, although another couple followed us into the space so we left them to it. I had hoped to return after they had gone but that was not to be because, as we retraced our steps past the Holy Well on our way to find the Preaching Cross, the couple were still there and, to my dismay, clambering over the well. We visited the garden of St. Mary’s church but sadly did not have chance to visit the church as time was getting on.

When we arrived back at our hotel room we found that the pre-ordered champagne and box of chocolates had not arrived. Mr C had to chase it up and when our order arrived it wasn’t exactly presented in an elegant way. The box of chocolates turned out to be four chocolates served on a bed of small pebbles. Not exactly what we had in mind.

We dined in the hotel, choosing the tasting menu option. The speed of delivery was much better than our previous occasion when we were rushed through the meal before we had chance to savour the wine that accompanied the dishes. However the final dessert course failed to be delivered until the wine waiter came back to check if we had enjoyed our experience and noticed our untouched wine glass, spare cutlery and the absence of a dessert plate.

We set off on our journey in glorious sunshine; planning to have lunch on the way. The SatNav was advising  an hour’s delay on the motorway so we decided to take a detour which led us to a lovely café that we have previously visited, The Café Craycombe at Fladbury in the Vale of Evesham.

We enjoyed our lunch sitting outside soaking up the rays.  I chose a tuna and sweetcorn baguette which was delicious.

After lunch the motorway delay seemed to have subsided so we rejoined it, stopping off at Gloucester services for a drink. Inside the services was hectic so I found the perfect seat overlooking the outside pool and the wildlife area. Back on the road the SatNav detoured us off the motorway onto delightful country roads although towards the end of our journey we got stuck behind a tractor on a narrow lane with no chance of overtaking.

We eventually arrived in Sherborne and, after a slight confusion with parking, we checked in to the Eastbury Hotel. We were taken to our lovely room overlooking the garden. After unpacking our bags we took advantage of the complimentary Sloe Gin that was conveniently waiting for us.

We freshened up before walking to The Green restaurant for dinner. The food and service was as good as we remembered it from our previous visits in 2019. I chose skate wing followed by meadow fresh nougat. We returned to the hotel for a nightcap where I sampled the local Sherborne Castle rose wine. I wasn’t disappointed.