How to Spend Three Days in Bridport

The characterful town of Bridport lies on the southern reaches of the Brit Valley in West Dorset. Known for its Saxon heritage and once renowned for its net and rope making, Bridport continues to attract visitors to its cobbled streets and bustling market squares.

A holiday cottage in Bridport provides you with the perfect base from which to explore the Jurassic Coast, famous for its spectacular clifftop walks and incredible natural landmarks. You’ll also find yourself surrounded by some of the south coast’s most outstanding attractions, making it an ideal destination for couples, families and parties of friends. We’ve got a fabulous selection of holiday cottages in Bridport, tucked away down quiet backstreets and nestled into the surrounding countryside.

If you’re planning a short break in Bridport, read on to see what we got up to during our recent three-day getaway…

Three-day Bridport Itinerary

Day One: Out & about in Bridport

After a lovely lie in and a morning spent settling in to our holiday cottage, we headed into town for a stroll and some sightseeing. Bridport is steeped in history and culture, its high street lined with artisan shops and eclectic stalls. Luckily, we’d arrived on Saturday, one of the town’s market days, and had a lovely time browsing the antique and bric-a-brac stands on Lower South Street before picking up some locally grown produce from the farmers’ market on Barrack Street.

Once we’d worked up a bit of an appetite, we made a beeline for one of the town’s tearooms for some brunch. Over brunch we enjoyed a chat with a friendly local who supplied us with a fascinating insight into the town’s history. Apparently, Bridport ‘and nowhere else’ was once renowned for its hemp and flaxen rope making, supplying cordage for the Royal Navy under the royal decree of King Henry VIII. This also gave rise to the well-known old smugglers’ saying ‘stabbed by a Bridport dagger’, a reference to the hangman’s noose.

Curious to know more about the town’s past, we headed for the Bridport Museum on South Street, a beautiful old building crammed with interesting exhibits, including ancient rock samples discovered along the nearby Jurassic Coast, Roman treasures, Anglo-Saxon coins, and a wealth of information about Bridport’s former noblemen, traders and innovators…plus the odd smuggler and rogue!

Our next stop was Bucky Doo Square, a cobbled and flower-filled space where buskers were playing. We popped into the George Hotel for a pint of the local Dorset ‘Gold’ ale, where we learned how Bucky Doo Square might have acquired its characterful name. According to the locals, it’s either named after a former pub called the ‘Buck and Doe’ or is connected to the archaic word ‘Bocardo’ which means prison or gaol. However, both theories were brushed aside by one Bridport denizen who insisted the name comes from the expression ‘Boggard’, a term used to describe a medieval loo…charming, hey? Two prominent buildings can be found just off the square; the Grade I listed Bridport Town Hall which holds regular seasonal events, and the Bridport Arts Centre, a hub for theatre, arts, dance, music and film and a focal point for the annual Bridport Literary Festival.

Our next adventure was only a short stroll away along the flagstones of South Street. Built on the banks of the River Brit, the Old Brewery has been fermenting beer since 1794. During the 19th Century, this burgeoning enterprise was bought by the Palmer brothers who set the foundations for Palmers Brewery, a family business that still thrives today as one of the region’s finest independent brewers. We enjoyed a fascinating tour of the brewery, its famous old water wheel – forged in 1879 at the town’s foundry – still being turned by the rush of the River Brit as it makes its way to West Bay.

West Bay is less than two miles from Bridport town, so we took a 30-minute stroll down to the beach to see the majestic golden cliffs, made famous from ITV’s crime drama, Broadchurch.

It’s hungry work sight-seeing and the sun was starting to set so we walked back to Bridport and headed to East Street and the Olive Tree restaurant for dinner, once described by The Sunday Times as “one of the best fish-bistro restaurants in Britain”, before returning to our holiday cottage for a good night’s sleep.

Day Two: Garden walks & countryside rambles

We woke up feeling fresh and keen to discover more about this idyllic corner of West Dorset. After a hearty breakfast at The Green Yard Café, which lived-up to all its glowing reviews, we set off for Eggardon Hill, site of an ancient hill fort and famous for its far-reaching views, catching a bus from Bridport to the neighbouring village of Loders. We followed a popular circular trail along winding, hedgy lanes and across grassy meadows to eventually climb to the summit of this iconic landmark. Legend has it that Eggardon Hill was also the haunt of one of the south coast’s most notorious smugglers, Isaac Gulliver, who used the hill as a landmark for his fleet of luggers.

After a quick picnic of bits we’d picked up at yesterday’s farmers’ market, we made our way back down the grassy slopes. Not far from this beautiful setting lies Mapperton House & Gardens, home to the Earl and Countess of Sandwich, a grand sandstone residence built in the midst of an enchanting wooded valley. Our return journey took us along a slightly different route, via King’s Lane and the charming village of Nettlecombe where we found The Marquis of Lorne pub, stopping off to enjoy a well-earned drink in the pub garden.

Back in Bridport, we had time to freshen up at our holiday cottage ahead of our next excursion, a trip to the world-renowned Jurassic Coast. We took a bus to Charmouth and spent the afternoon fossil hunting. The Jurassic Coast stretches 95-miles from Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks on the Isle of Purbeck, and remains England’s only natural World Heritage Site. We found ourselves in the expert hands of Jurassic Coast Guides who not only gave us a fascinating introduction to the coast’s geology but also helped us find our very first ammonite fossil! As if all that wasn’t enough, we managed to squeeze in a tour of the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre whose displays include the astonishing ichthyosaur, centre stage of the ground-breaking BBC documentary ‘Attenborough and the Sea Dragon’, before catching the bus back to Bridport.

Back in Bridport, we headed out for dinner at Dorshi on Chancery Lane, a delicious end to a memorable day.

Day 3: A golden start ‘capped’ off by a lazy afternoon

We were up early for our last day in Bridport. After a quick visit to Bella’s deli to pick up some picnic supplies, we set off to the coastal hamlet of Seatown to pick up the South West Coast Path, a 360-mile trail connecting Minehead in Somerset to the sparkling shores of Poole Harbour. We were headed for the towering rocky shoulder known as the Golden Cap, the highest point on the south west coast. Traversing the headlands, we reached the summit of this awesome natural landmark. It was a beautiful morning and the views stretched as far as Portland Bill to the east and Start Bay to the west. Following the ancient pilgrims’ paths into the Golden Cap Estate, past wild orchids and dragonflies, we reached Langdon Hill en route to Seatown Lane. It was a truly stunning walk, well worth all those gritty uphill yards.

On the way back to Bridport, we made a short detour to another of the area’s much-loved manors, the Symondsbury Estate, where we whiled away an hour with a coffee at the Kitchen restaurant and met some of the resident farm animals. You can explore the estate’s woodlands and meadows on foot or by bicycle. Many people enjoy a hike up Colmers Hill, another of the area’s best vantage points. We wish we could have stayed longer, but with the shadows lengthening and the sun setting, it was time to head back to our holiday cottage.

We loved our stay in Bridport, such a friendly place imbued by arts, history and culture, and only a short distance from the remarkable Jurassic Coast. If you like the sound of our weekend away, take a look at Toad Hall Cottage’s collection of cottages located both in and around Bridport town.