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England

The Jurassic Coast and New Forest

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20242025
5 days From £549 per person
3.8 stars(32 reviews)
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A beautiful discovery of the Jurassic Coast and New Forest, discovering seaside towns, ancient castles and natural wonders by heritage rail

No Solo Supplement

No Solo Supplement subject to availability on selected departures. 

Mobility Rating 2

2025 Tour code: 25DJS

About the tour

Explore the gems of Dorset and Hampshire by steam train and heritage railway.

Based in Bournemouth, experience the incredible Jurassic Coast - England's only natural UNESCO World Heritage site - on a cruise past Old Harry Rocks to Swanage. From here, travel on the Swanage Railway through idyllic scenery to ancient Corfe Castle on the Isle of Purbeck.

Uncover the delights of the New Forest on Exbury Gardens' charming Rhododendron Line and a visit to the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, before enjoying an evocative trip on Hampshire's gorgeous Watercress Line.

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Unforgettable Experiences

Riding the Rhododendron Line through Exbury Gardens
Riding the Rhododendron Line through Exbury Gardens
Admire the exceptional displays of rhododendrons and azaleas from the Rothschild collection and enjoy a steam-hauled journey through the colourful flora of Exbury Gardens in Hampshire’s New Forest.
Travelling to Corfe Castle on the Swanage Railway
Travelling to Corfe Castle on the Swanage Railway
After sailing round Studland Bay to Swanage, take a scenic trip through the stunning countryside on the heritage Swanage Railway to the battle-worn ruins of 1,000-year-old Corfe Castle.
Visiting Beaulieu and the National Motor Museum
Visiting Beaulieu and the National Motor Museum
Explore fascinating motoring memorabilia at the award-winning National Motor Museum with time to absorb the elegant delights of Palace House and Beaulieu Abbey.
A heritage journey through Hampshire on the Watercress Line
A heritage journey through Hampshire on the Watercress Line
Experience idyllic landscapes on the famous Watercress Line, a restored heritage railway, travelling 10 miles between the attractive Hampshire towns of Alresford and Alton.

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 – Arriving by the sandy shores of Bournemouth

Our exploration of the Jurassic Coast and New Forest starts today at our 4-Star hotel in the beautiful coastal town of Bournemouth. Arriving at leisure, you have time to settle in and meet your Tour Manager before dinner with the rest of your group this evening.

With check in available from 2pm, you could spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the seaside resort. Our hotel is within easy access to the beach and city centre, where you'll find the Bournemouth Aquarium and a mix of shops on the high street. Bournemouth as we know it was founded in the early 1800s as a health resort and quickly became a popular destination for Victorians, attracted to its spas and seven miles of sandy beaches. It remains a favoured seaside town amongst Brits and is also the ideal base for our discovery of the surrounding areas.

Includes
  • Dinner
Day 2 – The nostalgic Swanage Railway to battle-worn Corfe Castle

After breakfast, we take a short coach transfer to Poole Quay for a boat trip to Swanage. Sailing the open blue sea, we pass Brownsea Island, Studland Bay and the white chalk cliffs of Old Harry Rocks at the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast.

Swanage is an atmospheric Victorian seaside town with a long beach, independent shops and delicious food. On arrival, there's time to grab some lunch before joining the Swanage Railway*. This heritage rail journey runs through the beautiful Isle of Purbeck countryside, passing waving fields and charming villages.

Reaching Corfe Castle, you can explore its fascinating 1,000-year-old ruins at leisure. Sitting on a hill overlooking the peaceful village, the dramatic remains have an intriguing history, having borne witness to sieges and the English Civil War. The keep of this fortress castle was built in the early 12th century for William the Conqueror's son, King Henry I. After admiring this former royal stronghold, we return to Bournemouth by coach for dinner at our hotel.

*Trains are steam-hauled where possible, however due to timetable changes or weather conditions, heritage diesel locomotives may be running instead.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 – Exbury Gardens’ beautiful steam railway and Beaulieu Motor Museum

This morning, we travel by coach to the New Forest to explore Exbury Gardens, home to the fantastic Rothschild collection of rhododendrons and azaleas. We enjoy a different view of the gardens by boarding the Exbury steam railway, also known as the Rhododendron Line. Departing from a charming replica Victorian station, the train meanders around the beautiful gardens and circles Dragonfly Pond, where you can try to spot local wildlife.

This afternoon, we are driven to the National Motor Museum in the expansive grounds of Beaulieu, home of the Montagu family. There's plenty to see here, from Formula 1 vehicles and land-speed record breakers to the famous car from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Alternatively, enjoy a bird's-eye view by riding on the monorail through the roof of the museum. Also on the estate, you can find Palace House - a medieval turreted house - or wander the serene gardens. There's a restaurant where you can enjoy lunch before returning to the hotel by coach, with time to relax before dinner.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 4 – Historic Hampshire towns on the heritage Watercress Line

Heading into charming Hampshire by coach this morning, we arrive in the bustling market town of Alton. There is time to wander independently, uncover the grand Georgian architecture lining its attractive main streets, or you could seek out St Lawrence Church, where you can still see damage caused during a 1642 battle in the English Civil War.

Heading to the station, we board the charming Mid Hants Railway, or Watercress Line*, a steam-hauled heritage railway that travels through ten miles of idyllic countryside. This picturesque route was originally used to transport produce to London's markets from the UK's capital of watercress farming, Alresford. There's free time to explore or enjoy lunch independently before boarding the coach for our next stop.

Historic Christchurch boasts many attractive sights, and its 11th-century priory is one of the few monastery churches to have survived Henry VIII's rule. Panoramic views reward those who climb the 176 steps to the top of its tower. Later, the coach takes us back to our hotel for our final dinner as a group.

*Trains are steam-hauled where possible, however due to timetable changes or weather conditions, heritage diesel locomotives may be running instead.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5 – Homeward bound

This scenic part of southern England has given us many beautiful memories during our exploration. Sailing from Poole Harbour to Swanage revealed the gleaming chalk cliffs of Old Harry Rocks on the Jurassic Coast and the historic ruins of Corfe Castle. In the New Forest, we admired Exbury Gardens and the fascinating exhibits of Beaulieu's National Motor Museum, while Alton and Alresford showcased elegant Georgian architecture. Throughout all this, nostalgic heritage railways allowed us to sit back and enjoy front-row seats to the picturesque countryside we travelled through.

Our holiday comes to an end after breakfast this morning. Once you've checked out of our Bournemouth hotel, you can make your way home or continue to explore more of the fantastic Jurassic Coast and New Forest on your own.

Includes
  • Breakfast

Additional information

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotel

Hermitage Hotel, Bournemouth

Hermitage Hotel, Bournemouth

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Trains

Swanage Railway
The Watercress Line

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Reviews

3.8 stars3.8 / 5 · 32 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (9)
  2. 4 stars
    (16)
  3. 3 stars
    (3)
  4. 2 stars
    (1)
  5. 1 star
    (3)

Anthony Goddard

5 stars

Submitted 25/Jul

Nice holiday, hotel in great position. Guide was excellent. Weather wasn't to good but we made the best of it.

Collected by Trustpilot

Anthony Goddard
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Sharon

4 stars

Submitted 20/Jul

A very good holiday but such a shame the weather was too bad to do the boat trip out to Old Harry Rocks and our trip which followed to Corfe Castle was extremely damp. Our tour manager wasn't the best we've ever had but was friendly enough. He refused to use the coach microphone and tell us anything of interest on the journeys, as did the coach driver. A bit of information would have made things more interesting, especially as he reckoned he was the tours expert! As well as that, for some reason best known to himself he really didn't want us to go to Christchurch. He tried to convince us it wasn't worth visiting, especially for our age group! He seemed to just want to get back to the hotel early. Thankfully everyone else DID want to visit Christchurch and what a beautiful spot it is. Even after our visit he insisted he was going to tell head office to take it off the itinerary as it didn't have suitable coach parking. From what I can make out it does have a coach park, our driver just didn't use it! Lovely holiday apart from that, decent hotel and food although once again, we've had better. Then again we've had worse. Altogether very happy with the holiday.

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Zoe Brooks

1 stars

Submitted 19/Jul

The room was awful don't know why I had to pay a solo supplement for such a small single room. Bed jammed between the wall and small cabinet. Would not recommend the hotel for single travellers. Did not visit the Jurassic coast only inland gardens and venues.

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Sanjay Sen

4 stars

Submitted 19/Jul

Enjoyable but slightly affected by hotel shortcomings in the bathroom department

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Gordon Codling

4 stars

Submitted 2/Jul

It was an enjoyable trip but could have done with more organisation and more old train Journeys

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John Vickers

5 stars

Submitted 2/Jul

Room given to us was in the old part of hotel and various things not working also shower was in Bath, no shower mat and being in our 80s impossible to shower. This accommodation was the worse in many R D holidays we have taken & hope our room etc will be better when in the Peak District in September.

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