The Shepherds Hut Retreat, Somerset

What’s On Your Doorstep?

Crewkerne, which is a market town situated 2 miles to the east and offers a range of supermarkets including Waitrose, shops, cafes and an indoor pool and gym complex.

Hinton St George, a picturesque village situated 1 mile to the north, offers a village shop and an award winning gastro pub ‘The Lord Poullett Arms’.

Places To Explore During Your Stay

Lyme Regis famous for the French Lieutenant’s Women and paleontologist, Mary Anning, is 30 minutes drive away. It is a very pretty town with independent boutiques, second hand bookshops, cafes, fossil shops, museums and a cinema.

We recommend having lunch at the Town Mill Bakery or the Mill Tea & Dinning Room, followed by a visit to the microbrewery and Art Gallery housed in an old water mill. And if your pocket stretches to it, you can enjoy dinner at Hix oyster and fish house while you watch the sun go down.

West Bay & Bridport, famous for being the gateway to the Jurassic Coast is only 30 minutes drive away. The market town of Bridport has a thriving artist community. There is still a busy market held on Wednesday and Saturday every week. We recommend attending the Saturday market for vintage bargains and local produce, arts and crafts. It was Bridport where Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall of River Cottage tried out his first produce, and his products are still sold at the monthly farmer’€™s market.

Bridport also has an independent cinema, The Electric Palace, which also doubles as an entertainment venue. You can also catch a show at the Bridport Art Centre, which is famous for the yearly Bridport writing prize and literary festival, and for the From Page to Screen film festival.

If vintage is your passion, Bridport has a fantastic selection of vintage furniture and clothing shops, which you will find near the St Michael Art studios. There is a sweet Red Brick Cafe to stop for a cuppa, when you have finished shopping.

West Bay is a 5 minute drive from Bridport. It has a stunning beach with golden cliffs. You can often find fossils on the beach. A great place to stay to watch the sun go down and have a BBQ on the beach. (Bridport has Waitrose, The Co-op and Morrisons if you want to buy BBQ supplies!)

Burton Bradstock home of Billy Bragg and the award winning Hive Beach Cafe, only a 35 minute drive away. This is a great beach to start from if you fancy covering part of the coast path on foot. If you are feeling fit you can walk to West Bay from here. The beach is owned by the National Trust and is a great spot to fish for mackerel. We recommend getting up early and having breakfast here.

Weymouth is an hour away. It is a traditional seaside town with a long promenade.

The Olympics are coming to Weymouth, so the marina is in the process of being improved, and a new road into Weymouth is being built. Weymouth is a good place for wind surfing, kite surfing and rock climbing.