My Perfect Day in Dorset - two-night break at The New Inn, Cerne Abbas and a ‘Udderly Delectable’ meatbox from The Udder Farm Shop
To celebrate the release of our new Slow Travel Dorset guide by Alexandra Richards we are running a special competition to find the most perfect day in the area.
We want you, in no more than 500 words, to describe your perfect day. It might be a day that happened, or one that you wish would. It could include visiting the iconic Durdle Door, tasting Blue Vinny cheese, or fossil-hunting on Lyme Regis beach.
The prizes
How to enter
My perfect day in Dorset by Alexandra Richards
Terms & conditions
The Prizes
The winner will receive a two-night break for two at The New Inn, Cerne Abbas (www.thenewinncerneabbas.co.uk). This lovingly restored 16th-century inn is located in one of the regions - and indeed England's - most beautiful villages, and has well-kept ales and award-winning food.
The runner-up will receive an 'Udderly Delectable' meat box from The Udder Farm Shop. Worth £85, the box contains the finest Dorset produce including lamb, chicken, and Udder Farm's own sausages and bacon.
A winner in the 2014 Taste of the West awards, The Udder Farm Shop firmly believes in keeping food miles to a minimum and working closely with local producers. Pick up some meat from the on-site butchery, some cheese and home-made goodies from the deli, or simply linger in the coffee with a slice of homemade cake with breathtaking views across Duncliffe Wood and the Blackmore Vale.
Three third-place entrants up will receive a copy of Slow Travel Dorset by Alexandra Richards.
How to enter
Send your entry, in no more than 500 words, to either Competitions@bradtguides.com, with 'Dorset competition' as the subject line, or post it to Hugh Collins (Dorset competition), Bradt Travel Guides,IDC House, The Vale, Chalfont St Peter, Bucks, SL9 9RZ.
Entries must be receieved by 30 June, and the winner and three runners up will be notified on 31 July.
The entries will be judged by Alexandra Richards, who will pick her favourites based on their passion, colour and originality. Read Alexandra's own perfect day below.
My Perfect Day in Dorset by Alexandra Richards
As the darkness recedes I begin to make out the comforting and familiar landscape of the Blackmore Vale. The neat hedgerow-lined fields and ancient trees are the key elements of a scene which has been unaltered for centuries. I hear the cows mooing in the distance, and I imagine they are exchanging the daily gossip on their way into the milking parlour. The clouds are beginning to glow orange as I start my walk up Duncliffe Hill, through some of Dorset’s finest and most ancient woodland. Some of the trees here are believed to be a thousand years old. I catch sight of a roe deer grazing on the edge of the wood, and a little while later a fox glares at me before hurrying to cover. The rising sun illuminates the carpet of bluebells and intensifies the unmistakable scent of wild garlic. The lighting is perfect for photography and I get some good shots before I walk back down the hill and head to my favourite farm shop for breakfast. I have been overseas for months and one of the things I’ve missed most is bacon traditionally cured in Dorset, so I savour every mouthful.
I fancy some sea air, so I take a drive south through the centre of the county. En route I pass Dorset’s most famous resident – the 180-foot chalk carving known as the Cerne Abbas Giant.
In Lyme Regis I stroll along the beach in the sunshine, watching out for fossils as I go. I find a dainty, perfectly formed ammonite, and tuck it into my pocket as a memento of the day. At a nearby farm shop I buy the ingredients I need for a picnic, all sourced within a 10-mile radius of the shop, including some delicious Portland crab. I drive along the coast through the unspoilt Bride Valley and my heart sings as I reach the hill above Abbotsbury. It’s a glorious view – Chesil Beach with the Fleet Lagoon behind it, watched over by St Catherine’s Chapel, which stands alone on a hilltop. From the village I walk up the hill towards the squat, 14th-century chapel, built of golden stone. St Catherine is the patron saint of spinsters so, like so many girls before me, I pop inside and say a quick prayer for the ideal husband to come along. I enjoy my picnic on the hillside overlooking the Fleet. It’s a clear day and I can see the Isle of Portland in the distance.
I continue eastwards, stopping off at picturesque Durdle Door, which lies on one of my favourite stretches of the South West Coast Path. I arrive in Corfe Castle in time to take some photographs in a beautiful evening light. Then it’s off to the pub for dinner, knowing I have a comfortable bed waiting in a nearby B&B.
There is only one thing that could have made this day more perfect – the miraculous appearance of that elusive, ideal husband.
Terms & conditions
The competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over. Employees, contractors and authors of Bradt Travel Guides (“Bradt”) and the competition partner and members of the immediate family of the above are not eligible to participate.
No purchase is necessary.
The competition will be launched in April 2015. All entries must be received by midnight GMT on the closing date, 30 June 2015.
There is one main prize in the competition, one second-placed prize and three third-place prizes.
Each entrant may submit only one entry for consideration. Joint entries are not allowed and entries on behalf of other people will be excluded.
The competition theme is ‘My perfect day in Dorset’.
Entrants will be sent Bradt’s e-newsletter (providing news and special offers). If you do not wish to receive the e-newsletter, please put “NO NEWSLETTER” in the message body of the email submission, or alongside contact information in postal entries.
The winner and runners-up will be selected by Alexandra Richards.
The judge will consider a combination of factors including originality of idea, quality of writing, adherence to theme and creativity.
Should, for whatever reason, Alexandra be unable to judge the competition entries, another suitable judge will be found at the sole discretion of Bradt.
The First Prize (as defined below) will be awarded to the entry that the Judge considers to be the best. The Judge’s decision is final. The second prize will be awarded to the second best entry and three third place prizes to the entries that the judge consider the next best.
The winner, second-placed entrant and three third place entrants will be notified by 31 July 2015.
The winner of the main prize (the “Competition Winner”) shall win a two-night bed and breakfast break for two at The New Inn, Cerne Abbas (www.thenewinncerneabbas.co.uk).
The prize can only be taken Monday through to Thursday.
All elements of the prize are subject to availability.
Bradt will accept no responsibility for any costs associated with the Prize and not specifically included in the prize description; this includes travel costs to reach the Prize location.
The winner must communicate directly with Bradt about the Prize.
All elements of the Prize are subject to availability.
The second-placed entrant will receive an ‘Udderly Delectable’ meat box from The Udder Farm Shop (www.theudderfarmshop.co.uk).
This includes postage of the meat box to the second-placed entrant’s address. If, for whatever reason, the ‘Udderly Delectable’ prize is unavailable an alternative with similar value will be offered instead, at the sole discretion of the prize provider.
The prizes are non-exchangeable, non-transferable, and are not redeemable for cash or other prizes. In the event of cancellation by the Competition Winner, for whatever reason, no alternative prize or travel dates will be offered. Once a confirmed booking has been made, reservations may not be changed.
If the Competition Winner is unable to take up his or her prize for any reason, or if we have not been able, after making reasonable efforts, to make contact with the winner, we reserve the right to award the relevant prize to an alternative winner.
Your competition entry must be all your own work. It must not contain any third-party content or infringe the copyright of any third party and it must not be obscene, defamatory or in breach of any applicable legislation or regulations. We reserve the right to exclude entries from the competition that we consider, in our sole discretion, to be in breach of this clause.
Bradt shall have a non-exclusive right to publish all entries on its website and in print and across other social media.
We reserve the right to withhold the prize, in whole or in part, if the judge decides in their sole discretion, that there are no entries of a suitable standard.
Bradt and the competition partners reserve the right to publish the names of the winner and the winning entries themselves, and the winner is required to give their full co-operation to all reasonable requests by the promoters in connection with publicity for the competition, their entry, the prizes or otherwise.
No correspondence will be entered into or comment issued on any matters concerning the competition and no reasons given for any decision made by the Judge.
Bradt shall not be liable for any circumstances beyond our reasonable control that prevent the competition being fulfilled, a winner being chosen, or any prize being taken up or fully enjoyed by a winner. Bradt excludes liability to the full extent permitted by law for any cost, claims or losses howsoever caused that arise by reason of any person’s entry into a competition or the award, or non-award, to them of a prize.
These terms and conditions shall be governed by and interpreted according to English law and the English courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction to deal with any disputes arising in connection with them.
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