Summer holidays in Dorset

Although the Summer Solstice and the longest day of the year is already behind us, there are still many long, balmy summer days ahead of us, and our thoughts are naturally turning to the summer holidays.

Dorset is a fabulous place for family-friendly summer holidays, and our delightful self-catering apartments provide perfect family accommodation, with stunning sea and coastal views over Lyme Bay.

All our self-catering apartments have central heating (and two are supplemented with wood burners), plus oven / hob, fridge, microwave, king size beds plus 4’ sofa beds, and linen and towels for the main bedrooms. We also provide free WiFi, and Digital Freeview TV and DVD players.

We’ll be posting lots of ideas for summer activities and days out over the coming weeks but, in the meantime, here’s a small taste of what you can expect:

• 6th – 14th August Lyme Regis Regatta and Carnival Week – nine days of activities and fun for the whole family;


• 7th August RNLI Fun Day at West Bay – including boat rides and a Rescue at Sea;


• 17th August Weymouth Carnival and Air Show – including the Red Devils Freefall Team and O’Brien’s Flying Circus;


• 20th – 21st August Bridport Carnival and Torchlight Procession (40th Anniversary)

As always, Dorset will be packed full of exciting events and activities in the summer, so don’t forget to book your family-friendly holiday in Dorset as soon as possible. We look forward to welcoming you and your family here.

Recycle Now Week

Recycle Week (20th – 26th June) is a week of nationwide recycling

This year’s theme is 'Recycling - Home and Away'. “It's all about the positive cumulative effect we can all make by recycling just a little bit more; whether it's doing more of what we already do at home or starting to recycle at work or while out and about.”

When you stay at Chesil Beach Lodge you can be sure you’re recycling while on holiday too. All our rubbish is sorted for recycling, and we recycle:

all our glass, plastic milk bottles, tins, clothes and cardboard, which are collected fortnightly and recycled in Dorset;

unwanted house items and clothing, which are recycled via our local Oxfam shop;

our vegetable waste, which is composted.

We also have tips on how to have an eco-friendly holiday.

Recycle Now have some great ideas for eco-friendly electrical products that reduce the impact on the environment. How about a USB Drive with a 100% recycled newspaper body; or a Samsung mobile phone with casing made from recycled plastic water bottles, and a solar panel charger; or an electric guitar with a body made using crushed CDs, vending cups and yoghurt pots?

If you’re a Facebook fan, you can keep up to date with all their recycling tips and information on the Recycle Now Facebook Page.

We’re committed to providing sustainable holiday accommodation and, as well as reducing waste and recycling, we serve locally-sourced produce, use environmentally-friendly cleaning products, and use open fires and wood burners to supplement heating where possible.

For more information, or to book one of our self-catering apartments or bed and breakfast accommodation in Dorset, please contact us.

Team Green Britain Bike Week

Team Green Britain Bike Week (18th – 26th June) is a UK-wide mass participation cycling event. Its aim is to celebrate and raise awareness of the social, health and environmental benefits of cycling, whilst encouraging more people to get out and about on their bikes.

There are several events organized for Dorset, including:

18th June, Sunday Cycle Ride - a gentle family orientated cycle ride around Weymouth,

20th – 24th June, the Cycle to Work Commuter Challenge for employees of the Borough of Poole

25th June, Mountain Bike Orienteering Challenge at Moors Valley Country Park and Forest

Click here to find events in your area.

Do you have an old bike languishing in the dusty recesses of your garden shed? Why not take part in Britain’s Biggest Bike Fix, give your bike a health check and get cycling. Here are their top 10 tips to get your bike in shape.

Chesil Beach Lodge is perfectly located as a base for cycle rides through the Dorset countryside. Historic towns, rural villages, beautiful countryside, and amazing sea and coast views: Dorset has it all.

We encourage car free days and we keep a wide selection of local maps and guides which you are free to borrow.

To book eco-friendly accommodation in Dorset, please contact us.

What’s on in Dorset: June

We have an environment theme running through some of this month’s posts and, with this in mind; it’s worth mentioning that World Environment Day is on the 5th June. This year’s theme is Forests: Nature At Your Service. Dorset has some beautiful woodland and forest areas, including Ringwood Forest and Wareham Forest, so why not make some time to discover Dorset’s woodland walks this month?

We hope May was a good month for you. It’s hard to believe that summer is just around the corner. As ever, June is a busy month in Dorset and there’s lots to do out and about. Here’s our pick of some of the best:

8th June - Much Ado About Nothing performed by the Rain or Shine Theatre Company at Sherborne Old Castle. Rain or Shine is a Gloucester based professional theatre company “which specialises in outdoor summer tours of classical theatre to castles, stately homes and gardens throughout the U.K.” The performance starts 7.30pm. and tickets are available from Sherborne Tourist Information Centre. Telephone 01935 815341.

The Great Shaftesbury Run is on the 12th June, and includes half marathon and 10k runs round the Earl of Shaftesbury's estate at St Giles House. The park will be open to the public and there will be music, entertainment and refreshments. Tel: 01725 517255.12th to 18th June is the Bridport Food Festival – “a celebration of the worth of local food”. Festival week events include cookery workshops; sausage, cheese and speciality bread tasting; a talk on the history of afternoon tea by food historian, Maya Pieris; and under 8’s biscuit decorating workshop.

18th June: Dorchester Carnival. This year’s theme is fictional heroes and villains so it’s time to get out your Superwoman, White Witch, Captain Hook, Bill Sikes and Cruella de Ville costumes, and join in the fun! J As well as the carnival procession, there’ll be a street fair and four-legged pub race.

23rd June to 3rd July: Beaminster Festival of Music and the Visual Arts – a packed programme of events including open-air Shakespeare, piano recital, jazz night, choral workshop, Noel Coward songs, poetry and much more.

A warm welcome and a sustainable holiday in the beautiful county of Dorset awaits you, so why not contact us and find out more about our eco-friendly self-catering accommodation in Dorset.