"Wonderful to see a town centre full of small vibrant local shops."
   R. Jenkins, Suffolk, November 2006.

Shaftesbury the home of the picturesque “Gold Hill” the picture used to advertise Britain.

• “Gold Hill” used to advertise Britain to the world.

• Founded 1100 years ago & largely unchanged since the 18th century

• Ideally located base, stay & visit Stonehenge, Bath & the Jurassic coast

Shaftesbury, (founded in C.880) is situated in North Dorset and is famous for “Gold Hill”, pictures of which, advertise Britain to the world. Heritage magazine (Realm in North America) includes Shaftesbury as one of 9 essential towns to visit in its historic towns and village’s section. In addition to the famous “Gold Hill” there are many independent shops, pubs, restaurants and other tourist attractions such as the Abbey (with hand held audio sets) open from April to October, 10AM – 5PM daily.

The Abbey, established by King Alfred was once one of England’s largest women’s’ communities until dissolution under Henry VIII. There is a heritage trail with blue plaques and panels to guide you around the town. Shaftesbury and surrounding area is an ideal location as a base to visit major tourist attractions like Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, Bath, Stour Head, Longleat, Poole, Bournemouth & Jurassic Coast to name a few. Contact the Shaftesbury Tourist Information Centre for more details.