9 Best Sights in The South, England

Set over the River Itchen at the east end of the High Street, this rare surviving example of an 18th-century urban water mill, complete with small island garden, is probably the oldest working water mill in Britain, with timbers dating back to the 11th century. The medieval corn mill on the site was rebuilt in 1744 and remained in use until the early 20th century. Restored by the National Trust in 2004, it still operates as a working mill on weekends, and you can purchase stone-ground flour produced here in the gift shop. Kids will love the live camera feed that tracks the river's resident otters.

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.

One of four castellated gateways originally built between 1327 and 1342 using stones taken from the original settlement at Old Sarum, this is the north passage through the wall that surrounds the Cathedral Close. The mullioned windows over the archway mark the site of a small lock-up jail to which anyone who committed offenses within the Close was taken.

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).

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.

This 15th-century building with some 13th-century features became England's first paper mill in the early 16th century and is now a hotel and atmospheric pub. It makes a pleasant destination for a 20-minute walk along Town Path southwest of the town center.

One of Salisbury's best-known landmarks, the hexagonal Poultry Cross is the last remaining of the four original medieval market crosses that gave shelter to market traders (other crosses indicated the dairy, wool, and livestock markets). A cross on the site was first mentioned in 1307, though the current structure dates from the late 15th century. The canopy and flying buttresses were added in 1852.

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.

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.