Voltaire

Best picnics

Make for Golden Cap cliff: the highest point on the southwest coast of England. You can reach it from the village of Seatown near Chideock. It’s worth noting that the Anchor Inn, beneath Golden Cap, is a great spot to catch the sunset.

Best beaches

West Bay, just 10 miles away, is the nearest watery stretch. Fish and chips and ice-cream huts clinging to the harbourside, benches that are great for sipping hot chocolate on while you watch the bobbing fishing boats… this place is all swooping seagulls and 1970s vibes (rumour even has it that a lady at one of the ice-cream stands has worked there for 50 years). The family-friendly Burton Bradstock, just five minutes beyond West Bay enjoys a dramatic drive down to the sea, and there’s even a ‘Beware of Adders’ sign to greet you by the little sandy/pebbly mix beach. The charming Lyme Regis is half an hour away from the house, and the dramatic Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door are also nearby.

Shopping

For self-catering supplies, there is a Sainsbury’s on Ludbourne Road in Sherborne, 12 miles away. For late-night shopping emergencies, the One Stop Convenience Store in Crewkerne (10 minutes away) is open until 9.30pm, and the Co-op on the square in Beaminster (five minutes away) is open until 9pm. Bridport is good for farmers’ markets, Frampton & Sons delicatessen in Beaminster (next to HSBC) is worth a visit – and don’t forget the Duchy shop in Dorchester. There’s a farm shop on the left, just as you enter Beaminster.

Activities

Massages and pampering sessions in a spa can be arranged for hen weekends. For hot-air ballooning over the epic patchwork-quilt Dorset scenery, Cameron Balloon Flights (0845 456 4202) is based in nearby Sherborne. The house can also arrange helicopter rides along the Jurassic coast (or even just to ‘jump the hedges’ of the farm) for guests. There are golf courses nearby: Bridport & West Dorset Golf Club (www.bridportgolfclub.org.uk), Chedington Court Golf Club (www.chedingtoncourtgolfclub.co.uk) and Sherbourne Golf Club (www.sherbornegolfclub.co.uk). There is also a children’s farm and swannery at Abbotsbury – see www.abbotsbury-tourism.co.uk. Meanwhile, Mapperton Gardens at Mapperton House in nearby Beaminster are particularly impressive.

Restaurants

The Fox Inn

+44 (0)1935 891 330

For wild seabass, Barbury duck breast, and local pork and leek sausage with mustard mash – served on blue-and-white chequered tablecloths in front of a roaring inglenook. Look out for the stuffed rabbit in a case on the wall. A five-minute drive from Voltaire, it’s in the middle of nowhere, but it does take credit cards.
Corscombe, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 0NS

Lord Poulett Arms

+44 (0)1460 73149

A great pub with even greater pub food that won Good Hotel Guide Gastro Pub of the Year 2008.
High Street, Hinton St George, Somerset TA17 8SE

The Bridge House Hotel

+44 (0)1308 862200

The best food within five minutes of Voltaire, according to some: simple, local and lots of. Need we say more?
Prout Bridge, Beaminster, Dorset DT8 3AY

Cafes

The Hive Beach Café

+44 (0)1308 897 070

Plump for locally caught seafood, or simply a hot chocolate or ice cream, whilst gazing across the sandy/pebbly mix bay.
Beach Road, Burton Bradstock, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4RF

Pubs

The Anchor Inn

+44 (0)1297 489215

A pub on the beach. Literally. The Anchor Inn is open all year round and is situated underneath Golden Cap cliff – the highest point on England’s south coast.
The Anchor Inn, Seatown, Bridport, Dorset DT6 6JU

The Bull Hotel

+44 (0)1308 422878

Just 20 minutes away at Bridport, the Bull Hotel offers a Sunday lunch-special menu that’s definitely worth a look.
34 East Street, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3LF.

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