When living in South Somerset we often went to the picturesque town of Beaminster in West Dorset to do some shopping.

In this town you will find Brassica. A wonderful restaurant serving award-winning dishes.

Brassica is a family run business and every handmade meal is prepared and cooked by Cass Titcombe, the chef patron himself.

We have eaten at Brassica many times and it has always been utterly delicious.

At Brassica you can enjoy local, fresh and delicious home cooked food in a perfect setting.

The restaurant works with local suppliers, farmers and smallholders and we love the fact that the majority of the menu is sourced within a 15-mile radius of Beaminster.


Beaminster

This wonderful town has much more to offer then the baker (Evershot Bakery), the butcher and the hairdresser (Salon at the Square). Which are most excellent by the way!

Beaminster is an old settlement, dating back to around the 7th century, and from 1284 it became a market town.

Narrow lanes of terraced cottages converge in the market square, the very heart of Beaminster.

This area, with its stepped market cross is now a preservation area and includes more than 200 listed golden hamstone buildings.


Mapperton Estate

Just up the road from Beaminster is Mapperton Estate, home to the Earl and Countess of Sandwich.

Mapperton House and Gardens are well worth a visit.

It was the location for the 2015 Thomas Hardy adaptation of ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’,


Images by brassicarestaurant.co.uk | Cool Places Britain
Walking

Get your walking shoes on and explore this region on foot!

Surrounded by four of Dorset’s highest peaks, the surrounding countryside provides some of the finest views to be found anywhere.

In 2000 the Beaminster Ramblers created five Beaminster Hills Circular Walks as their millennium project.

We have walked all of them en thoroughly enjoyed them all.


Jubilee Trail

The 90 miles (145km) Jubilee Trail winds across Dorset AONB from Forde Abbey on the Somerset border to Bokerley Dyke on the Hampshire border.

It winds through quiet villages such as Beaminster, passing rural churches and offers extensive views over the rolling downs and secret valleys.


Hardy Way

The countryside of Dorset is known all over the world as the backdrop to the literature of Thomas Hardy.

The Hardy Way is a 212-mile trail, which explores Thomas Hardy’s Wessex and visits many Hardy locations, beginning at his birthplace near Dorchester.

It includes the Piddle and Frome valleys, an outstanding stretch of coast between Lulworth Cove and the Encombe Valley, Corfe Castle, Beaminster, Dorchester, and Stinsford churchyard, where his heart is buried.

Between Beaminster and West Bay, the Hardy Way follows the same route as the Brit Valley Way.

And did you know that Beaminster features in Thomas Hardy’s novel “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” as Emminster?


Brit Valley Way

The Brit Valley Way is an 11-mile route from West Bay on the coast up to Chedington, north of Beaminster.

It takes you from the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast, through floodplains and grassy pastures, past Netherbury to Beaminster.

It enters Beaminster Square via Mary Wells Street and leaves via Fleet Street, rising quite steeply up to Buckham Down where there are panoramic views to the sea.

From here the route continues to Wynyards Gap, near Chedington


Wessex Ridgeway

The Wessex Ridgeway Trail is a 136-mile route from Marlborough, Wiltshire, to Lyme Regis in Dorset.

The route follows the path set by the Great Ridgeway, once an important trade link and ancient highway.

In the Beaminster area, the trail comes in from the east from Rampisham Down to Toller Whelme and on to Mintern’s Hill.

The section Beaminster to Pilsdon Pen takes you on a 5,5-mile linear walk towards Broadwindsor.

Then you will climb Lewesdon Hill and end on top of Pilsdon Pen.

Here you can join the Monarch’s Way.


Cool Places to Explore

Mapperton House & Garden | West Bay | Hive Beach | Pilsdon Pen | Forde Abbey House & Garden | Golden Cap | Colmers Hill | Hell Lane.