A village that looks like its been pulled from the pages of a fairytale is frequently named among the best in the UK.
Corfe Castle is a village in Dorset on the site of a ruined castle of the same name. It stands over a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage.
The village lies in the gap below the castle and is around four miles south-east of Wareham, and four miles north-northwest of Swanage.
It stretches across the Isle of Purbeck, with coasts facing both the English Channel and Poole Harbour. It includes sections of both the low-lying sandy heathland north of the castle and the Jurassic Coast to the south.
The castle stands above the village and dates back to the 10th century. It was the site of the murder of Edward the Martyr in 978 and during the English Civil War it was a Royalist stronghold and was besieged twice.
It is currently owned by the National Trust and is open to the public. The National Trust also runs a shop and a tearoom in the village, both are Grade II listed buildings.
Many of the houses in the village are built of the same stone, making it one of Dorset’s most scenic and photographed villages. When the castle was partly destroyed in 1646, lots of the stone was used to build the surrounding village.
The Corfe Model Village, located on the village square, is a 1⁄20 scale model that shows what the castle and village would have looked like in 1646 before the castle was slighted.
For many years, the famous children’s author Enid Blyton holidayed in the area, and some of the local places and people feature in her books. Corfe Castle was the inspiration for Kirrin Castle in the Famous Five. Blyton visited the ruin in 1941, arriving by steam train from Swanage.
The nearby village and coastline of Kimmeridge is definitely worth a visit. Kimmeridge Bay is one of the best places for rockpooling in Dorset, and during the summer there is a snorkelling trail to follow.
The village is easily accessible by public transport and has a Swanage Railway Station. You can then catch the train into the village or it is a 20 minutes walk. Bikes can also be hired at Purbeck Park from Cyclexperience.
