Intro

As well as experiencing extraordinary performances in extraordinary places, Inside Out events are also an opportunity to enjoy a remarkable county with some of the UK's most stunning landscapes, tempting local food and drink, and the widest range of activities from the relaxing to the thrilling.

In 2008, Cultural Olympiad launch celebrations in Weymouth & Portland over the weekend also include the B-Side arts festival and a Dance South West and Activate dance event.  Why not celebrate what Dorset has to offer all weekend by enjoying these then:

• Wandering the beautiful Jurassic Coast
• Indulging at one of the area’s fine local eateries
• Exploring the wide variety of arts experiences and events available in venues all over the county 

image: Simon Pascoe

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Hidden Dorset

Hidden Dorset is a website that reveals some of the less well-known experiences that make spending leisure time in the county so special - such as the Dorchester fishmonger who not only offers expert advice on your purchase, but also may even cook it for you and your guests!

Making it easy to be 'in the know' and design your own perfect day out, Hidden Dorset includes hundreds of tips and suggestions that have been collected from both county residents and visitors. The result is a website packed with secret gems: from tiny cafes that bake wonderful cakes and the best locations to skim pebbles, to details of dog-friendly pubs and local artists' studios. Best of all, every listing is supplemented with opening times, maps and routes to help you get to each destination.

So your biggest problem will be deciding what you don't have time for... until your next visit to Dorset that is!

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Family

• Visit Monkey World near Wareham and get close to some amazing primates
• Find your way to the middle (and back again!) of the giant maize maze
• Fly a kite on Hod Hill
• Imagine the ghostly echoes of Roman legions marching over Eggardon Hill
• Discover some fossils on the under cliff walk at Lyme Regis

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Activities

• Catch mackerel off the beach at West Bay near Bridport
• Turn a wooden bowl from wood grown locally
• Discover the history of the first trade union at Tolpuddle Martyrs' Museum
• Watch a film by gaslight at Rex cinema in Wareham
• Learn how to paint local flora at Kingcombe Centre
• Admire the beautiful contemporary furniture for sale at Sladers Yard
• Catch a boat from Poole to Brownsea Island and enjoy a few hours of car-free peace and quiet
• Take the chain ferry to Studland and swim in the lovely warm waters
• Count the shooting stars in the sky above the beacon at Farmcombe
• Marvel at the Japanese swords at the Russell Coates museum in Bournemouth
• Go parascending off the coast at West Bay
• Walk the rings around Maiden Castle near Dorchester
• Don a wet suit and scuba gear and experience some eerie wreck diving

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Places to stay

Here are some suggestions from Dorset Tourism:

Rural Dorset

• Coppleridge Inn, Motcombe
• Langton Arms, Blandford   
• Portman Lodge, Blandford
• The Retreat, Shaftesbury
• La Fleur de Lys, Shaftesbury 
• Kings Head Hotel, Wimborne
• Cole Street Farm, Gillingham
• The Old Forge, Compton Abbas
• Farnham Farm House, Nr Blandford
• Ramblers Cottage, Tarrant Launceston
• The Museum, Farnham, Nr Blandford
• Plumber Manor Hotel, Sturminster Newton
• Stock Hill Country House, Gillingham
• Kingston Courtyard, Kingston
• Stone Leigh Barn, Leigh

West Dorset

• The Fox Inn, Ansty
• The Piddle Inn, Piddletrenthide
• The Poachers Inn, Piddletrenthide
• Acorn Inn, Evershot
• Summer Lodge Hotel
• White House Hotel, Charmouth
• Little Court Hotel, Charminster
• Norburton Hall, Burton Bradstock
• Bridge House Hotel, Beaminster
• Crosskeys House, Nr Beaminster
• Yalbury Cottage Hotel, Lower Bockhampton
• The Eastbury Hotel, Sherborne
• The Grange at Oborne, Nr Sherborne
• The Pheasants B&B, Sherborne
• The Bull Hotel, Bridport
• The Bridge House, Bridport

Weymouth

• Corfe Gate House, Abbotsbury
• Heathwick House, Weymouth
• Chandlers Hotel, Weymouth
• Trelawney Dunvegan, Weymouth
• Moonfleet Manor Hotel, Weymouth

Purbeck

• Kingston Country Courtyard, Wareham
• Spurwing Guest House, Wareham
• Mortons House, Corfe Castle
• Rollington Farm, Corfe Castle
• Manor House Hotel, Studland Bay

Christchurch

• The Lord Bute Hotel, Highcliffe   
• Rothesay Hotel, Highcliffe
• Beechcroft Place, Highcliffe
• Waterford Lodge Hotel, Christchurch
• The Avonmouth Hotel, Christchurch
  
  

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Food & Drink

• Cycle to the Square & Compass Inn at Worth Matravers, sample some local ale and admire the fossil museum
• Enjoy some local fish cooked to perfection at the Anchor Inn in Burton Bradstock
• Sample a delicious local organic lunch in the garden of the Down Farmhouse
• Taste lots of local foods at the Washingpool Farm Shop near Bridport
• Visit Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage

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