Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a village of stone and thatch on the Dorset coast, between the ridge and Chesil Beach.
- Wednesday 23 September
- 12°, overcast, wind 3 mph north east
- Sun up 6.58am, down 7.06pm
- Sea at Chesil: waves 0.1 m
- What is open now
- Next bus to Weymouth from the Swan Inn: see the boards
Things to do
It has a swannery, a subtropical garden, a chapel on a hill and a 600 year old barn, and two pubs to come back to.
Abbotsbury SwanneryAbout 600 mute swans on the Fleet, fed at noon and 4pm
Abbotsbury Subtropical GardensThirty acres of valley garden running down towards Chesil, begun in 1765
St Catherine's ChapelThe pilgrims' chapel on the hill: free, twenty minutes up, the best view
Chesil Beach and the FleetEighteen miles of shingle, and the lagoon behind it
The Tithe Barn and the abbey ruinsA 600 year old barn, 272 feet long, and what is left of the abbey
St Nicholas' ChurchGrade I, open every day in daylight, with Civil War bullet holes in the pulpit
Find your way around
The village is small enough to walk end to end in ten minutes. Everything on this site is on the map, with the beach, the Swannery and the Gardens a mile or so out.
Eat and drink
Two pubs, the tea rooms, the bakeries, the café on the beach, and where each is open right now.
Oxford's BakeryBakery- Bellenie's BakehouseBakery and tea roomBakery at 11 Market Street, open from 7.30am.
Swan InnPubVillage pub on Rodden Row, family run, with a skittle alley and beer garden.Dogs welcome
The Ilchester ArmsHotel and restaurantCoaching inn on Market Street with rooms, a bar and a restaurant.Closed, opens 12pm todayDogs welcome
The Abbey HouseGuest house and tea room
The Old Schoolhouse Tea RoomsTea roomLight lunches and cream teas in the old school on Back Street.
Stay
Bed and breakfast in the village, the hotel on Market Street, farmhouse rooms and cottages a little way out.
Chesil House ApartmentsSelf-catering apartmentsTwo one-bed flats by the cricket pitch on West Street.- The Ilchester ArmsHotel and restaurantCoaching inn on Market Street with rooms, a bar and a restaurant.Closed, opens 12pm todayDogs welcome
- Swan LodgeBed and breakfast
- The Abbey HouseGuest house and tea room
WheelwrightsBed and breakfastOne-room B&B at 14 Rodden Row; ring to check it is open.- Quintessential B&BBed and breakfast
What's on
The next few dates in the village.
- 5 OctoberMonday
Chesil Bank Parish Council, Full Council
Strangways Hall. 7pm. The agenda goes up on the council website about a week before. Anyone is welcome, and there is time at the start of every meeting for the public to speak. Parish council.
- 24 OctoberSaturday
Ghostly Games for half term
Swannery. 24 October to 1 November. Half-price admission, and six games laid on for the under-10s. Details.
- 24 OctoberSaturday
October Illuminate
Subtropical Gardens. 24 to 31 October. The gardens lit up after dark. Tickets.
- 31 OctoberSaturday
Last day of the season
Swannery. The Swannery shuts for the winter after today and opens again in mid-March. The Brambly Hedge story trail runs every day up to then.
- 7 NovemberSaturday
Abbotsbury Fireworks Night
Swan Inn. Saturday 7 November, from 7pm at the Swan. The Beachcombers' big night of the year. The money raised goes to village causes. Beachcombers.
Subscribe to the diary in your calendar app and new dates arrive by themselves.
Plan your visit
The practical part, kept short.
Getting here
Abbotsbury is on the B3157, the coast road between Weymouth and Bridport, and the village is on the road rather than off it: in along Rodden Row, round the Square and out along West Street.
Parking
The village car park is off Rodden Row, on the left as you come in from Weymouth, about a hundred metres from Market Street.
With dogs
Dogs are welcome all year on Chesil Beach at the Abbotsbury end, as far as the tank teeth boundary; beyond that towards Portland they must be on a lead on the seaward side from 1 September to 30…
A rainy day
St Nicholas' Church is open every day in daylight and the pulpit alone is worth ten minutes.
A day in Abbotsbury
Say how long you have and who is with you, and this puts a day in order for you, starting from the village car park.
Live here? The village pages have the parish council, the buses, who to ring when something goes wrong, the noticeboard and how to report a problem.