Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a village of stone and thatch on the Dorset coast, between the ridge and Chesil Beach.
- Sunday 1 November
- 9°, overcast, wind 9 mph north
- Sun up 7.01am, down 4.45pm
- Sea at Chesil: waves 0.5 m
- 8 places open now
- Next bus to Weymouth from the Swan Inn: see the boards
Things to do
It has a swannery, a subtropical garden, a chapel on a hill and a 600 year old barn, and two pubs to come back to.
Abbotsbury SwanneryAbout 600 mute swans on the Fleet, fed at noon and 4pm
Abbotsbury Subtropical GardensThirty acres of valley garden running down towards Chesil, begun in 1765
St Catherine's ChapelThe pilgrims' chapel on the hill: free, twenty minutes up, the best view
Chesil Beach and the FleetEighteen miles of shingle, and the lagoon behind it
The Tithe Barn and the abbey ruinsA 600 year old barn, 272 feet long, and what is left of the abbey
St Nicholas' ChurchGrade I, open every day in daylight, with Civil War bullet holes in the pulpit
Find your way around
The village is small enough to walk end to end in ten minutes. Everything on this site is on the map, with the beach, the Swannery and the Gardens a mile or so out.
Eat and drink
Two pubs, the tea rooms, the bakeries, the café on the beach, and where each is open right now.
The Old Schoolhouse Tea RoomsTea roomLight lunches and cream teas in the old school on Back Street.
Chesil Beach CaféCaféBreakfast and lunch by the beach car park, March to October.Closed for the season, reopens 1 MarchDogs welcome
Cherries at Abbey FarmCaféLicensed café at Abbey Farm, open every day 10 to 5.Open now, until 5pm
Oxford's BakeryBakery
Bellenie's BakehouseBakery and tea roomBakery at 11 Market Street, open from 7.30am.
Swan InnPubVillage pub on Rodden Row, family run, with a skittle alley and beer garden.Open now, until 9pmDogs welcome
Stay
Bed and breakfast in the village, the hotel on Market Street, farmhouse rooms and cottages a little way out.
East Farm HouseBed and breakfastWendy Wood's B&B in a 17th-century longhouse off Rodden Row.No dogs
Cowards Lake Farm HouseBed and breakfastTwo-room B&B at 13 West Street; ring to check it is open.
Gorwell FarmSelf-catering cottagesSix holiday cottages on a farm north of the village.Dogs welcome
Little Waddon VineyardVineyardVineyard at Waddon, past Portesham, with Saturday tours and a hut for two.Dogs on leads
Number FiveBed and breakfastOne-room B&B at 5 Church Street.- Chesil House ApartmentsSelf-catering apartmentsTwo one-bed flats by the cricket pitch on West Street.
What's on
The next few dates in the village.
- 7 NovemberSaturday
Abbotsbury Fireworks Night
Swan Inn. Saturday 7 November, from 7pm at the Swan. The Beachcombers' big night of the year. The money raised goes to village causes. Beachcombers.
- 20 NovemberFriday
Abbotsbury Illuminate
Subtropical Gardens. 20 November to 31 December, on selected dates. Parking is free and there is no booking fee. Dates.
- 28 NovemberSaturday
Abbey Farm Christmas Fair
Tithe Barn, Abbey Farm. 28 and 29 November, in the tithe barn: local traders and Christmas gifts. One of the few weekends the barn is open to walk into. Abbey Farm events.
- 5 DecemberSaturday
Santa's Grotto
Subtropical Gardens. 5 and 6, 12 and 13, and 19 to 23 December. The evening slots run alongside Illuminate. Tickets.
- 14 DecemberMonday
Christmas Carols with the Wessex Military Band
Subtropical Gardens. 6pm. There is a Christmas quiz with Santa at lunchtime the same day.
Subscribe to the diary in your calendar app and new dates arrive by themselves.
Plan your visit
The practical part, kept short.
Getting here
Abbotsbury is on the B3157, the coast road between Weymouth and Bridport, and the village is on the road rather than off it: in along Rodden Row, round the Square and out along West Street.
Parking
The village car park is off Rodden Row, on the left as you come in from Weymouth, about a hundred metres from Market Street.
With dogs
Dogs are welcome all year on Chesil Beach at the Abbotsbury end, as far as the tank teeth boundary; beyond that towards Portland they must be on a lead on the seaward side from 1 September to 30…
A rainy day
St Nicholas' Church is open every day in daylight and the pulpit alone is worth ten minutes.
A day in Abbotsbury
Say how long you have and who is with you, and this puts a day in order for you, starting from the village car park.
Live here? The village pages have the parish council, the buses, who to ring when something goes wrong, the noticeboard and how to report a problem.