Although there was probably an earlier Celtic church on the site Aldhelm is celebrated as the founder of the Christian Church in Sherborne in 705 AD. Founded as a cathedral it became an Abbey in 1075 before finally becoming the parish church of Sherborne with the dissolution of the monasteries.  For many it is still the ‘cathedral of Dorset’ and the Benedictine heritage lives on in the daily offering of prayer and praise.

When people look at the Abbey, they see different things. Some see the finest building in Dorset, with its glorious fan vaulting – of which Simon Jenkins says in his book England’s Thousand Best Churches, “I would pit Sherborne’s roof against any contemporary work of the Italian Renaissance.” Others see a place renowned for its choir and its music and its bells – the heaviest peal of eight bells in the world. Some see thirteen centuries of history.

In addition to the roof there are many other fine features from the Whistler reredos in the Lady Chapel, the high altar reredos in Caen stone by Richard Carpenter, the great West Window by John Hayward installed in 1997 and dedicated by HM The Queen, mediaeval misericords, ancient stone coffins said to contain the bones of Ethelbald and Elthelbert, kings of Wessex  and brothers of Alfred the Great, the Grey and Davidson organ, rebuilt by Kenneth Tickell and Co in 2005 , who added the west end section, tombs of the local gentry and much more.

Although there is much to see it is not a museum.  It is a living, working and growing place of worship and ministry, often filled with music and with any people, young and old, attending services and events.  Prayers are said and sung daily.

After two days of travelling, we decided to give the car a rest. In the morning we walked around Sherborne looking at its interesting architecture along the way. We visited the Abbey, which is a fabulous building. As we entered we were warmly welcomed by one of the Abbey greeters, she was very knowledgeable and informative. After our visit Mr C was drawn into a second hand bookshop where we also enjoyed a cup of tea.

Next we visited the museum and a cook shop before enjoying lunch in Oliver’s Coffee House.

After lunch we walked to Sherborne New Castle taking in Paddock Gardens along the way. It was an unusual and slightly strange experience walking to, rather than driving to, a stately home. As we arrived it started to drizzle so we decided to visit the house first. This was a good call because by the time we had finished the tour of the house we emerged into brilliant sunshine allowing us to enjoy our walk around the estate.

We chilled out in the hotel before dining in ‘The Green’. The food was delicious and the staff were polite and friendly. Once again we stopped of at The Half Moon before returning to the hotel.

After breakfast we walked to the information centre to pick up leaflets about places that we might visit. We then hopped into the car and set off towards the coast thinking that we might stop in Bridport but the main street there, because of its location, put us off stopping. It was here we noticed that pub, The Bull, that we had nearly chosen to stay at and we were glad that we had chosen to stay in Sherborne instead. We carried on to Lyme Regis where enjoyed a walk along the seafront and around the town.

Mr C couldn’t find the right thing for for lunch so we drove along the coast to West Bay where he was able to have a fish lunch from a kiosk. I chose crab fish cakes and we ate our purchases on a bench with seagulls looking on hopefully. They were not as persistent as the ones we experienced in Eastbourne last year. Then in search of a suitable place for a drink, we found a delightful cafe called Cherries which had excellent food options including cakes. As I had only just had lunch I chose not to indulge, although Mr C was tempted to a Belgian waffle.

Suitably refreshed, we continued along the Jurassic coast road stopping at Abbotsford so that Mr C could step onto Chesil Beach. Chesil beach is an amazing natural geographical feature created during the ice age. it forms perfect curve along the coast line. It is a good job we hadn’t intended to go for a walk because I had forgotten to pick up my sensible walking shoes which I had put ready before we left the hotel.

Once more we set off along the coast, road detouring to the Isle of Portland so that I could show Mr C the view of Chesil Beach from The Heights. We drove down to Portland Bill to see the lighthouse before returning to The Heights Hotel for an afternoon cuppa. The views across Chesil Beach are particularly good from there and Mr C was suitably impressed.

After the long drive we enjoyed some time relaxing in the hotel before it was time to go out for dinner. We dined in the Tamburino Gold before having a nightcap in the Half Moon pub where we encountered some “interesting” characters. Before we returned to the hotel, I took the opportunity to photograph the Abbey whilst it was floodlit in the darkness.

Things had recently been hectic so we were not as organised as usual and set off later than we had planned. We made good time thanks to my TomTom SatNav rather than the inbuilt SatNav in Mr C’s car. We are rarely confident that the inbuilt one chooses the best routes because it tends to take us off on strange detours that add time to the journey.

We stopped off in Tewkesbury where we had lunch in the Touching Souls tea room next door to the Abbey. It was just as hectic and we were being organised in the same way as we were on our previous visit at Easter.

We arrived in Sherborne and checked into our hotel, The Eastbury, at around 3.30pm. We had a cup of tea in our room before stepping out into light rain for a walk around Sherborne. As we neared the end of our walk the rain eased off and we were treated to the Abbey’s peal of bells.

Back in the hotel room I had an enjoyable soak in the bath, the first time I chanced a bath rather than a shower after hurting my back the week before. This was accompanied by a small glass of the complementary Sloe Gin that had been left in our room for us to enjoy.

We dined in the hotel restaurant, following dinner with a nightcap in the hotel lounge. The receptionist, Gemma, brought us some large folders full of leaflets about things to do and see in the local area. This kept us entertained for the rest of the evening.

I have at last finished editing my holiday photos. I shall now start writing about my holiday adventures so watch this space…