Places to see in ( Blandford Forum - UK )
Places to see in ( Blandford Forum - UK )
Blandford Forum, commonly Blandford, is a market town in the North Dorset district of Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about 24 km northwest of Poole. It is the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District Council.
Blandford is notable for its Georgian architecture, the result of rebuilding after the majority of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1731. The rebuilding work was assisted by an Act of Parliament and a donation by George II, and the rebuilt town centre—to designs by local architects John and William Bastard—has survived to the present day largely intact.
Blandford Camp, a military base, is sited on the hills two miles to the north east of the town. It is the base of the Royal Corps of Signals, the communications wing of the British Army, and the site of the Royal Signals Museum.
Blandford is situated between Cranborne Chase and the Dorset Downs, to the south east of the Blackmore Vale, 24 km (15 mi) northwest of Poole and 35 km (22 mi) southwest of Salisbury. It is sited in the valley of the River Stour, mostly on rising ground northeast of the river, but with some development south of the river at Blandford St Mary.
ost of the buildings in Blandford's centre are Georgian, due to the rebuilding after the 1731 fire and the absence of subsequent change. Pevsner stated that hardly any other town in England can be compared with it. A 1970 report by Donald Insall Associates described Blandford as the most complete and cohesive surviving example of a Georgian country town in England, with the Market Place area in particular given the status of An Area of National Importance and described as a brilliant master piece . Buildings that have received Grade I listing by English Heritage are the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, the town hall and corn exchange, The Old House, Coupar House, Pump House, and several buildings in Market Place: numbers 18, 20 and 26, and the old Greyhound Inn. All the listed structures in Market Place, including the church and another seventeen buildings with either Grade II or Grade II* status, form a group, together with several listed properties in West Street and East Street.
Coupar House, dated around 1750, is the largest private house in Blandford that dates from the post-fire period. It has a richly decorated interior with a notable staircase, and is unique among the town's private dwellings for having Portland stone dressings to its brick façade, though the design of this frontage has been described as curiously amateurish with little attention ... paid to rules of proportion.
Blandford lies at the junction of the A350 and A354 main roads but is skirted by an eastern bypass. The main road running through the town is the B3082, connecting Blandford Forum to Wimborne Minster. Buses run from the town to locations including Poole, Bournemouth, Salisbury and Shaftesbury with the primary operator being Wilts & Dorset. Blandford is 15 miles (24 km) from Bournemouth Airport.
Blandford is 15 miles (24 km) from Poole railway station. From 1860 to 1964, Blandford Forum was a stop on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, which ran from Bath to Bournemouth, until the line closed to passengers in 1966. Located between Templecombe and Broadstone, the railway was still open until the closure of the Blandford's goods yard in 1969, after which the track was lifted. The station was immortalised in 1964 in the song Slow Train by Flanders and Swann.
( Blandford Forum - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting the city of Blandford Forum . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Blandford Forum - UK
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Plumber Manor, Sturminster Newton, Dorset
One of the most delightful and endearing country house hotels that I know, Plumber Manor reminds me of a favourite aunt, dependable and warm, settled in its ways, a bit eccentric, full of good humour, always welcoming. Hardly surprising: it's been in the same family since the 17th century. You'll find comfortable bedrooms, excellent cooking and beautiful riverside gardens deep in the Dorset countryside. And peace and quiet, friendly faces and English hospitality at its very best.
Plumber Manor features in the Charming Small Hotel Guide Britain printed guide, and the charmingsmalhotels.co.uk website:
Cycling in Dorset
Weekend cycle tour from Bournemouth to Dorset and the Purbec Hills stopping off Lulworthcove
Great Dorset Steam Fair, Tarrant Hinton, Blandford Forum, Dorset ( 8 )
Steam engine exhibits, vintage vehicles, heavy shire horses and rural crafts. Working rural displays on a 500-acre site including old time steam funfair. Widely recognised as the leading event of its type in the world with 2,000 exhibits, 800 trade stalls and over 220 full size steam engines. At over 600 acres, the show ground is one of Europe's largest outdoor event locations. Established in 1969, for the first 15 years of its existence the steam fair then known as ~ Stourpaine Steam Fair' ~ was held at Stourpaine Bushes, then in 1985 it temporarily moved to nearby Everley Hill, following a land dispute. In 1988, after 3 years at Everley Hill, where access by large crowds was difficult, it moved to its current permanent home at Tarrant Hinton, north of Blandford Forum, where access is vastly improved.
A speciality of the show is the display of traction engines and steam rollers performing the work for which they were designed. Such displays include heavy haulage, threshing, sawing logs, ploughing and road-making. The main arena of the show is purposely sited on the slope of a hill to allow both steam- and internal combustion-powered machinery to demonstrate their capacity for heavy load hauling. One of the main displays is the ~ Showman's Line up, in the vintage fairground section, which is thought to be the largest collection of showman's engines in the world.
Since 2003, the show has contracted its own radio station, Steam Fair FM, broadcasting 24 hours daily from the Saturday prior to the show, to the Monday following -- 10 days in all. The station, which is also streamed on the internet, covers show news and views, weather and other relevant information with plenty of listener dedications and a format of Vintage Hits. During the event, the station is advertised on roads in the surrounding area and provides traffic news for drivers using the A354 Blandford to Salisbury road that passes the show site.
With 1,000 trade stands, 2,000 exhibitors and their families, together with our campers on the public campsites (5,000 caravans and tents) it is estimated that the population living on site amounts to 25,000 people at any one time.
Total number of people expected to see the show is in excess of 200,000.
An army of workers distribute and collect the 2,500 litter bins on site and 180/200 tonnes of rubbish is taken away each year.
Each year there are more than 300 paid staff and volunteers working during the five-day show period.
Each year we have 360,000 promotional brochures printed, 65,000 car window stickers and 50,000 posters. These are printed 10 months before the show and then distributed over the next few months all around the UK and to overseas destinations.
Due to planning regulations, actual site preparations do not begin until only 2 weeks before the event commences and we have just 10 days to clear the site afterwards and put it back to a working farm.
Over 2 miles of water piping is laid and over 3,100,000 litres of water is used during the show each year! 2,100,000 litres are used by the engines alone, along with 1,000,000 litres used for domestic and drinking purposes. 750,000 litres of all the water is brought onto site by tankers with a full time team of 6 workers during the show and for a week before.
Over 10 miles of electric cable are used with over 100 floodlights erected and 200 socket outlets placed. 30 large generators have to be hired each year and just one generator is powerful enough to supply electricity to a small village. Electricity has to be provided to 6 entertainment pavilions, 4 shower blocks and other marquees and to our administration and emergency services centre. they have 3 full time and one part time electricians on site.
Each year over 200 tonnes of coal are used.
Over 560 barrels of beer were drunk at last year's show.
80 tonnes of wood will be cut in this year's wood sawing section.
16 acres of corn is cut before the show starts by an old time binder with 10 large ricks erected in readiness for the threshing demonstrations. The reed from the demonstrations is then sold to local thatchers who use it on thatched cottages all over Dorset and the neighbouring counties.
Shaftesbury: A Farmer's Town? Or A Town Of Farmers?
I primarily made this location-showing video for a friend of mine in Wales who was somewhat convinced that everyone where I come from, (the town of Shaftesbury), are all farmers but I couldn't send it to her directly (for some stupid reason) so I thought, sod it, I'll put it on YouTube.
I decided to make this video whilst out cycling one morning in an ill-fated attempt to try and dissuade her mono-farmer view of my hometown. However, I realised when I got home and started making it that we basically are a town full of farmers. To which numerous people have agreed. So...yes. YOU WIN HONEY!
You also get to see all the best bits of Shaftesbury in HD and in speed. You also get to see my bike a couple of times. Yay! Cycling for the win!
(I should point out now, before I'm thrown out of town by the council, that I may have been slightly harsh about some of the places mentioned in the video. This is for humour. I don't genuinely believe the harsh stuff I've written. I do enjoy living in Shaftesbury. To an extent...)
I also don't mean any copyright infringement by the use of the song 'Get A Little Dirty' by The Ironweed Project. I'm a fan and I liked the song. And it fitted with the pace of the video. Please don't sue or kill me. Please...?