Dorset & The New Forest offers museums catering for almost any interest.
Anyone interested in the evolution of Dorset's unique, and globally-renowned, coastline will enjoy the story of the Jurassic Coast and evidence of recent fossil treasures at the Lyme Regis Museum www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk and the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre in West Dorset www.charmouth.org or the Swanage Museum & Heritage Centre www.shc@purbeck-dc.gov.uk. Further along the coast east at Abbotsbury, the famous Swannery is a living sanctuary to thousands of swans, a bird with very strong links to the former monastery at Abbotsbury www.abbotsbury-tourism.co.uk . Springtime for the hatching season is always popular.
History lovers will enjoy the wide variety of museums available. The Red House Museum in Christchurch and the Priest's House Museum in Wimborne each offer fascinating social history displays in a Georgian workhouse and a townhouse respectively. The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum www.russell-cotes.bournemouth.gov.uk houses a diverse art collection from around the world in an Italianate-style Victorian mansion on the Bournemouth seafront. In Dorchester, the Old Crown Court and Cells takes the visitor back to the time of the Civil War and the notorious Judge Jeffreys, while the nearby Tolpuddle Martyr's Museum www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk documents the beginnings of the modern trade union movement. In Dorchester high street, the Dorset County Museum www.dorsetcountymuseum.org is renowned for its fossil collection from the Jurassic Coast, as well as the complete study of Thomas Hardy, the much-loved 19th-century novelist and poet. In the northern reaches of the county, at Shaftesbury Abbey Museum, the original foundations of the Benedictine Monastery set up by King Alfred can be viewed, along with an interactive exhibition which tells the story of the abbey.
Industrial heritage fans will be intrigued by the number of mills in the area. Sturminster Newton Mill and Eling Tide Mill are two well-known examples which offer milling days on certain occasions over the summer, but there are several others that can be visited. Those interested in Dorset's former major industry, quarrying, will also be interested in a visit to Portland, the home of the stone used in a number of London's major historic buildings, including St Paul's Cathedral.
Military and motor fanatics can find entertainment in a number of museums. For the military, the Bovington Tank Museum www.tankmuseum.co.uk, the Royal Signals Museum at Blandford www.army.mod.uk/royalsignalsmuseum and the Keep Military Museum in Dorchester www.keepmilitarymuseum.org each offer exciting and imaginative exhibitions. Motor enthusiasts will love the Sammy Miller Museum for restored motorcycles www.sammymiller.co.uk and the world-famous Beaulieu National Motor Museum www.beaulieu.co.uk, with its 250 vehicles, Palace House and Abbey Ruins.
