Visit Dorset - the unspoilt countryside

How to follow the footsteps of Thomas Hardy and Tamara Drewe...

There are no major attractions. And hardly any minor attractions either. You’ll find no cities to visit and no motorways to get you there. The county doesn’t even have a tourist board.

Some people must wonder why would anyone want to spend a few days in the Dorset countryside?

Well, those people obviously haven’t seen Tamara Drewe yet. This charming film – ‘the best British film of 2010’ – is set amid the most gorgeous West Dorset countryside. It sometimes seems like one long commercial for holidays there. Who needs a tourist board with films like that?

To celebrate the release of Tamara Drewe on DVD in Spring 2011 I spent a few days deep in Tamara Dreweshire. My plan was to capture some of the spirit of the film by following in the footsteps of the cast and crew.

I called the film’s Location Manager Jonah Coombes, who spends his life scouring the globe for exotic, glamorous backdrops for blockbuster movies. He suggested the best Tamara Drewe locations and advised me to prepare myself for something special. Jonah confessed that six months’ filming in these wonderful spots left the entire team lifelong fans of Dorset.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone,” he said. “I was really touched by the countryside there. The landscape is really dramatic but the atmosphere is very pure, gentle and peaceful. I didn’t want to leave.”

The ravishing brunette... on page two

In the film, Tamara Drewe is a ravishing brunette who returns home to beguile the men of a small Dorset village. It’s a story loosely based on Thomas Hardy’s Victorian novel ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’ – another piece of blatant advertising for Dorset tourism.

The film was made by another big Dorset fan – Oscar nominated director Stephen Frears, who lives near Shaftesbury in Dorset. It stars sexy former Bond girl Gemma Arterton as Tamara - so I thought the best place to begin my tour was in her bed.

Let me assure my wife and the rest of you that Tamara wasn’t actually there at the time. The truth was that after a tip from Jonah I stayed in Gemma’s room at the lovely old BridgeHouse Hotel in the quiet little town of Beaminster. The stars stayed in this 13^th century former priest’s house during the six months of filming.

I even found a photograph of the stars relaxing together on the sofa in the hotel bar. I noted that Gemma Arterton was sitting next to dashing Luke Evans, who plays the man who wins her love in the end… not sneaky Roger Allam with whom she dallies beforehand.

After wallowing in Tamara’s enormous four-poster bed in Room 3, I lounged on that sofa too, trying hard to look as cool as the Hollywood actors in the photo.

After finally admitting defeat in the coolness stakes, I set off for a wonderful drive around the winding little lanes. I found Tamara’s gorgeous wisteria-clad farmhouse just around a bend in East Chelborough, overlooking a pretty valley and much further from the madding crowd than the film suggests.

One small shop... page three 

In nearby Yetminster I spotted several scenes from the film as I wandered down what must be Britain’s least appropriately-named ‘High Street’, which has just one small shop.

Later I pottered around the vigorously hilly countryside near Salwayash and Holywell that helped decorate many scenes in the film. I walked across the lushest grass fields to a prominent hilltop and gazed at tranquil swathes of Dorset in all directions.

This West Dorset area really has the ingredients for getting-away-from-it-all breaks. Not only is there a spectacular World Heritage coastline between Lyme Regis and Portland Bill, scores of pretty towns and villages inland… but much of the countryside surely hasn’t changed since Hardy’s day 100 years ago.

Some of my favourite spots are the Cerne Abbas Giant – a gigantic rude figure cut into the chalk hillside above yet another pristine village – and Sherborne – with its two castles and dainty antique shops. It’s also interesting to see the Prince of Wales’ new traditional village at Poundbury, the huge hillfort of Maiden Castle and Hardy’s cute cottage at Upper Mellstock.

But rural Dorset is not really about ticking off major attractions, it’s about pottering about quietly, relaxing and letting the relaxed lifestyle soak in. Most holiday agendas around here involve scenic country walks, browsing quirky independent shops and popping into friendly old country pubs.

Rumbustuous behaviour... page four

One of the timeless honey-coloured stone buildings in Yetminster is the White Hart Inn, which also plays a prominent role in Tamara Drewe. Inside it has same dark beams, horse brasses and old wooden bar.

My chat with the barmaid was friendly, although not quite in the same saucy league as Luke’s in the film. Watch the film to see what rumbustuous behaviour he and the barmaid got up to… I settled for the local lamb shanks in mint sauce instead.

Fact box

The BridgeHouse Hotel and Restaurant, Beaminster, Dorset: 01308 862200/www.bridge-house.co.uk is offering ‘Love Dorset’ breaks to celebrate the release of Tamara Drewe on DVD. From £260 per room per night, the offer includes dinner and a chance to watch Tamara Drewe in your room with popcorn and champagne.

Tamara Drewe is released on DVD and Blu-ray by Momentum Pictures.