Getting Oriented
The south of England's contrasting landscapes range from Salisbury Plain and the sheltered villages of coastal Hampshire and Dorset to the port cities of Southampton and Portsmouth and the woodlands of the New Forest. Culture-rich towns like Salisbury and Winchester are great places to spend the night. Salisbury puts you within easy reach of Stonehenge and the equally ancient stone circles at Avebury. The southern coast of Dorset has a couple of popular vacation resorts, Bournemouth and Weymouth, and historic sites like Corfe Castle. Lyme Regis is the gateway to the Jurassic Coast, a fossil-packed World Heritage Site.
- Winchester. One of the region's most culturally and historically significant towns.
- Chawton. A genteel village once home to Jane Austen.
- Portsmouth. A historically significant south-coast port town.
- Southampton. Another major English port.
- Isle of Wight. A charming island filled with old-fashioned seaside resorts.
- Salisbury. A great cathedral city often used as a home base for Stonehenge visits.
- Stonehenge. One of the world's greatest and most enigmatic prehistoric monuments.
- Avebury. A village home to the largest stone circles in the world.
- Longleat House. A popular Elizabethan estate.
- Stourhead. Wiltshire's most beautiful garden.
- Lyndhurst. The hub of the rustic New Forest area.
- Beaulieu. A classic English village.
- Bournemouth. A coastal town with some of southern England's most pristine beaches.
- Wimborne Minster. A small town with a famous church.
- Corfe Castle. An atmospheric ruined castle.
- Dorchester. The heart of Thomas Hardy country.
- Cerne Abbas. A charming village with an interesting hill figure .
- Sherborne. A market town with a beautiful abbey.
- Weymouth. West Dorset's main coastal resort town.
- Abbotsbury. A charming beachside village.
- Lyme Regis. A seaside town on the Jurassic Coast.
