26 Best Sights in The South, England

Surrounding part of Avebury village, the world's largest stone circles are one of England's most evocative prehistoric monuments—not as famous as Stonehenge, but all the more powerful for their lack of commercial exploitation. The stones at Avebury were erected between 2850 and 2200 BC, about the same time as the better-known monument. As with Stonehenge, the purpose of this stone circle has never been ascertained, although it most likely was used for similar ritual purposes. Unlike Stonehenge, however, there are no certain astronomical alignments at Avebury, at least none that have survived. The main site consists of a wide, circular ditch and bank, about 1,400 feet across and more than half a mile around. Entrances break the perimeter at roughly the four points of the compass, and inside stand the remains of three stone circles. The largest one originally had 98 stones, although only 27 remain. Many stones on the site were destroyed centuries ago, especially in the 14th century when they were buried for unclear reasons, possibly religious fanaticism. Others were later pillaged in the 18th century to build the thatched cottages you see flanking the fields. You can walk around the circles, a World Heritage site, at any time; early morning and early evening are recommended. As with Stonehenge, the summer solstice tends to draw the crowds.

The unique geological curiosity known as Chesil Beach (official slogan: "18 miles and 180 billion pebbles") is in fact not a beach but a tombolo, a thin strip of sand and shingle (rounded pebbles) that joins two bits of land together. Part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site, Chesil, 18 miles long, is remarkable for its pebbles that decrease in size from east to west. It's also known as the setting for Ian McEwan's novel and its 2018 film adaptation, On Chesil Beach. You can access the eastern section leading to the Isle of Portland (a peninsula) and the western section beyond Abbotsbury year-round. However, access to the central section is restricted, with its environmentally sensitive eastern side that faces the Fleet Lagoon (a large saline lake) entirely off-limits and its western side closed from April to August to protect nesting birds (though you can visit the lagoon in a purpose-built boat, the Fleet Explorer, that runs daily tours). The entire rugged beach is better suited to walking and fossil hunting than sunbathing and swimming since powerful undertows make the water dangerous (it's also cold). There are walking and cycle trails along the rugged coastline and an excellent, informative visitor center with a café. Parking (£9–£15 per day) and toilets are at five access points. Amenities: parking (fee); toilets. Best for: walking; windsurfing.

Still largely owned by the Crown, this national park consists of 150 square miles of woodland, heaths, grassland, bogs, and the remains of coppices and timber plantations established in the 17th to 19th century. It also encompasses a number of towns including Lyndhurst, the New Forest's administrative center. Residents have had grazing rights since the 12th century, and you can still encounter free-roaming cattle, and, most famously, the hardy New Forest ponies. An extensive network of trails makes it a wonderful place for biking, walking, and horseback riding.

As much as the golden hamstone (a type of limestone) exterior, majestic tower, and fine flying buttresses impress, the glory of Sherborne Abbey is the delicate 15th-century fan vaulting that extends the length of the soaring nave and choir. Some features from the original 8th-century cathedral, like a Saxon doorway in the northwest corner, still remain. If you're lucky, you might hear "Great Tom," one of the heaviest bells in the world, pealing out from the bell tower. Free guided tours lasting about an hour are offered from April through November on Tuesday and Thursday (10:30 am) and Wednesday and Friday (2 pm); tours are also offered Saturday (10:30 am) and Sunday (11:15 am) from early July through early September. From December through March, tours need to be made by prior arrangement.

More than 300 feet long and one of the largest and most impressive Neolithic chambered tombs in Britain (though only about 50 people are buried here), the barrow was built around 3650 BC. You can explore the site and enter the tomb, which was used as a burial chamber for more than 1,000 years before the main passage was filled in and the front entrance blocked with sarsen boulders around 2000 BC. It has an elevated position with a great view of Silbury Hill and the surrounding countryside.

With 7 miles of clean, sandy beaches tucked beneath its cliffs, Bournemouth is said to enjoy some of the country's warmest sea temperatures. You can descend to the seafront either by taking the zigzag paths through the public gardens near Bournemouth Pier (where there's a family-friendly amusement arcade) or by taking the three outdoor elevators from the cliffs. A handy Beach Check live map website tells you how crowded different areas are at any given time. If you're not tempted to swim, you can stroll along the nearby promenade. Sailing, windsurfing, and other water sports are also big here. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); water sports. Best for: walking.

Eighty acres of rolling lawns and splendid period architecture provide one of Britain's finest settings for a cathedral, the largest cathedral close in the country. Laid out in 1220, it is bordered by 21 historic buildings and contains three museums: the Mompesson House, the Salisbury Museum, and the Rifles Museum, which is devoted to the county's infantry regiments.

Colossal and unblushingly priapic, this 180-foot-long figure dominates a hillside overlooking the village of Cerne Abbas. The giant carries a huge club and may have originated as a pre-Roman tribal fertility symbol. Alternatively, historians have tended to believe he is a representation of Hercules dating back to the 2nd century AD. Recent research suggests he may be a 17th-century gibe at Oliver Cromwell as there is nothing in the historical record before 1694 that mentions the figure, but other recent studies suggest the giant was first made by the Saxons between AD 700 and 1100. The figure's outlines are formed by 1-foot-wide trenches cut into the ground to reveal the chalk beneath. The best place to view the figure is from the A352 itself, where you can park in one of the numerous nearby turnouts.

Four miles west of Avebury, Cherhill Down is a prominent hill carved with a vivid white horse and topped with a towering obelisk. The horse, the second oldest chalk "white horse" in Wiltshire, is one of a number of hillside etchings in the county, all but two of which date back no further than the late 18th century. This one was put there in 1780 to indicate the highest point of the downs between London and Bath. The views from the top are worth the half-hour climb. The best view of the horse is from A4, on the approach from Calne (from the west).

Lyme Regis is famous for its curving stone harbor breakwater known as the Cobb, which dates back to the 13th century when it was commissioned by King Edward I to improve the harbor. It has subsequently been rebuilt several times over the centuries due to storm damage. The Duke of Monmouth landed here in 1685 during his ill-fated attempt to overthrow his uncle, James II, and it features prominently in the movie of John Fowles's novel The French Lieutenant's Woman, as well as in the 1995 film version of Jane Austen's Persuasion. There's a sweeping coastal view to Chesil Beach to the east. You can walk on the wall, but take care; the surface is uneven.

Forming the southeast corner of the town's medieval wall, this late-13th-century gatehouse was expanded in the early 14th century, at the start of the Hundred Years' War, to incorporate a two-story gallery and three-story tower. After extensive restoration, the gallery space is now used for a changing roster of art installations and programs. Before this, it served as a gunpowder factory, the town jail, and an archaeology museum. Don't miss the far-reaching views over the city from the roof. There's also a café and bar.

On the hills above Abbotsbury stands this 72-foot-tall stone monument dedicated to Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy (not the famous writer), Nelson's right-hand man at the battle of Trafalgar to whom his dying words "Kiss me, Hardy" were addressed. The monument, built in 1844 and designed to look like a spyglass, lacks charm, but in clear weather, you can scan the coastline from the Isle of Wight to Start Point in Devon, 56 miles away (the Hardy family wanted a monument that could be used as a landmark for shipping). On open days in May and October, you can climb the 120 steps inside to a viewing platform. The monument is 3½ miles north of Abbotsbury via B3157 and Portesham Hill.

One of two surviving gateways in the city's original ancient walls, this structure to the south of the Close is thought to have been built in the 12th century as a remodeling of a Roman gate on the site. The tiny 13th-century church of St. Swithun-upon-Kingsgate, a rare surviving example of a "gateway church" (built into the walls of medieval cities), is on the upper floor. Nearby, 8 College Street is the house where Jane Austen died on July 18, 1817, three days after writing a comic poem about the legend of St. Swithun's Day (copies are usually available in the cathedral).

Although called a castle, this is actually one of the most important pre-Roman archaeological sites in England and the largest, most complex Iron Age hill fort in Europe, made of stone and earth with ramparts that enclose about 45 acres. England's Neolithic inhabitants built the fort some 4,000 years ago, although its ramparts weren't constructed until the 1st century BC, when it was a Celtic stronghold housing hundreds of residents. It was still occupied when it was stormed in AD 43 by the invading Romans. Within a few decades, the fort was abandoned in favor of the new Roman city that later became Dorchester, but in the 4th century AD it became the site of a Romano-British temple complex. Finds from the site are on display in the Dorset Museum in Dorchester. To experience an uncanny silence and sense of mystery, climb Maiden Castle early in the day. Leave your car in the lot at the end of Maiden Castle Way, a 1½-mile lane.

This large Neolithic henge, a ring-shaped earthwork 278 feet in diameter, is the oldest monument in Dorchester itself and has survived by adapting. In the 1st century AD, some 2,500 years after its construction, it became one of the largest Roman amphitheaters in Britain, used for gladiatorial contests and executions. In the Middle Ages, it was used for jousting tournaments, while during the English Civil War it was converted into an artillery fort. After the Restoration, it once again became a place of public execution; 80 rebels condemned by the infamous Judge Jeffreys met their fate here. Vividly evoked in Hardy's Mayor of Casterbridge, it's now used for public events.

Built in 1913, this memorial commemorates the departure of the Mayflower and the Speedwell from Southampton Quay bearing Pilgrims and others bound for North America on August 15, 1620. After taking on water, the Speedwell, which had been repaired here, was declared unseaworthy and abandoned a month later in Plymouth, Devon. Several of the original 200 passengers abandoned the journey. The rest were crammed onto the Mayflower, which finally set sail from Plymouth in September with 102 people aboard. A plaque also honors the 2 million U.S. troops who embarked from Southampton for occupied Europe during World War II.

Starting at the Spur Redoubt (supposedly the point from which Nelson set sail for Trafalgar) near Henry VIII's Southsea Castle, the Millennium Promenade follows the waterfront through Old Portsmouth and Gunwharf Quays, ending up at the Hard near Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The 2½-mile self-guided walk, marked by a rope pattern on the sidewalk, passes a variety of fortifications built in the 15th century, the early 20th century, and the centuries in between.

This visitor complex with a gallery, museum, and reference library devoted to the New Forest contains displays and activities related to the area's geology, history, wildlife, and culture. The museum is packed with quizzes and other interactive elements that keep children engaged. There's also a café. It's located by the main parking lot.

Owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and under the aegis of King Charles III since he was Prince of Wales, this development in a traditional architectural vernacular style showcases his vision of urban planning, environmental sustainability, and community living. Zoning is strict, with an emphasis on conservation and energy efficiency; private houses coexist with shops, offices, small-scale factories, and leisure facilities. Dorchester's Farmers' Market is held in the Queen Mother's Square the first Saturday of the month. Poundbury, a mile west of Dorchester on the B3150, has attracted the ire of modernist architects, but any properties for sale are quickly snapped up.

This small market town, the model for "Shaston" in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, sits on a ridge overlooking Blackmore Vale—you can catch a sweeping view of the surrounding countryside from the top of Gold Hill, a steep street lined with cottages so picturesque it was used in an iconic TV commercial to evoke the quintessential British village of yore. There's an information hub in Morrisons Daily Supermarket on Bell Street. Shaftesbury is 20 miles west of Salisbury and 15 miles east of Sherborne.

Rising 130 feet and comparable in height and volume to the roughly contemporaneous Egyptian pyramids, Europe's largest man-made mound was built around 2400 BC. Though there have been periodic excavations of the mound since the 17th century, its original purpose remains unknown. The viewing area, less than 1 mile east of Avebury, is open only during daylight hours, but there's no direct access to the mound itself.

Lyndhurst's High Street is dominated by this imposing redbrick Victorian Gothic church, notable for its stained-glass windows designed by Pre-Raphaelites William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, as well as Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, a large fresco by Frederick Leighton. Fans of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland should note that Alice Hargreaves (née Liddell), the inspiration for the fictional Alice, is buried in the churchyard.

It's easy to recognize this parish church by its 200-foot-high tower and spire. Lewis Tregonwell, founder and developer of Bournemouth, is buried in the churchyard. Also buried here is Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein and wife of the great Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, whose heart is interred with her in the elaborate Shelley family vault. Mary Shelley's mother, the feminist philosopher and writer Mary Wollstonecraft, is buried in the Shelley vault, too.

Dating back to 1226 and initially built as a chapel for the workmen who would go on to construct the cathedral, this still-active church contains a rare medieval Doom painting (a term for paintings in medieval churches of Judgment Day), a fresco that is considered to be the best preserved of the few such works left in Britain; it's also the largest. Created around 1470 and covering the chancel arch, the scenes of heaven and hell served to instill the fear of damnation into the congregation. Restored in 2019, it's best seen on a spring or summer evening when the light through the west window illuminates the details.

This 1½-mile path was once a prehistoric processional way leading to the stone circles at Avebury. It was lined with 100 standing stones spaced 80 feet apart. However, only the stones on the half mile nearest the main monument survive intact. The lost stones are marked with concrete obelisks.

Although there has been a church here since the 8th century, the current building, with its crenellated and pinnacled twin towers, was built between 1120 and 1180. The nave reflects these Norman origins in its zigzag molding interspersed with carved heads. Several Gothic components were added later, as were fine Victorian geometric floor tiles and stained glass windows. Don't miss the late-17th-century chained library (where books are chained to shelves), one of the first public libraries in Britain and the country's second-largest chained library. Its collection includes a 14th-century manuscript and a 1522 book with a title page designed by Hans Holbein. Also look out for the pre-Copernican astronomical clock (it has a blue ball earth with the sun going around it), which dates to before the 15th century. It's on the inside wall of the west tower.