Deep in the Dorset countryside, Askr Grange offers stay in lodges and shepherd’s huts from a place called Seaview Farm. The name should give you a clue as to what the vista is like from here but the reality still has the capacity to surprise and delight. It’s rolling Dorset countryside all the way to the UNESCO World-Heritage-listed Jurassic Coast. And the best place from which to enjoy this scene? From the warm waters of the hot tub outside your accommodation. This is high-end glamping indeed.
The hot tubs are not the only luxury either. Inside each of the two shepherd’s huts and two lodges (one is a super-sized three bedroomed affair) are Smart TVs, wifi, and underfloor heating. All are self-contained, with comfy beds and en suite bathrooms. Choose a shepherd’s hut for open-plan living; a lodge for something more akin to a holiday cottage. But there’s accommodation here for folk who prefer to be more self sufficient, too, as one of the farm's fields is opened up for summer-only camping.
Whether you book the family in at the three-bedroomed lodge, enjoy a romantic stay in a shepherd’s hut, or pitch up in your own tent, the location is the same. Seaview Farm is a working farm with a changing rota of sheep, pigs, and cattle grazing in surrounding fields. You can walk out of the gate and find yourself on The Hardy Way in just a few minutes. That well-signposted bridleway can take you north to Dorset Nectar Cider Farm for a tour and tasting or south to Washpool Farm Shop and the market town of Bridport. For the beach, jump in the car and head five miles to West Bay, backed by iconic sandstone cliffs, or head for Burton Bradstock at the start of Chesil Beach. Weymouth and Lyme Regis are half an hour’s drive east and west; the whole of Dorset can be explored from here.
Askr Grange is in the Dorset countryside three miles north of Bridport and five miles north of West Bay on the Jurassic Coast. You can hire paddleboards from Askr Grange to take to the beach. A little further east on the coast is Burton Bradstock and the start of Chesil Beach. In the other direction, Charmouth and Lyme Regis (13 miles) are good places to look for fossils. Lyme Regis also has its famous harbour arm, The Cobb, museums and seaside amusements. Closer to the campsite, you can go on a vineyard tour and tasting at the Furleigh Estate (two miles) or a tour of Dorset Nectar cider farm (one mile). The Hardy Way provides a good walking route to reach the latter and for longer walks in the countryside. Down on the coast, the South West Coast Path offers even more walking and yet more spectacular sea views.
With Dorset Nectar cider farm just up the road and a vineyard two miles away, you’ve got a great choice of local tipples. For food, the closest shop for basics is the village shop on the Pineapple Business Estate just a mile up the road or Washpool Farm Shop, two miles away, on the outskirts of Bridport. There’s also a Farmhouse Kitchen restaurant there serving breakfasts, lunches and afternoon teas. For more than what’s on offer there, Bridport itself is your next port of call as it has lots of independent shops and a twice weekly market (Wednesdays and Satrudays). For a meal out, the closest pub that does good food is The Pymore Inn about a mile down the road from the site.
