The underrated English town that's becoming our favourite artsy staycation

"Weather-beaten, biscuit coloured buildings; a magnificent Abbey; antiquated streets lined with bakeries, galleries, coffee shops; tardis-like antique labyrinths... Sherborne is a treasure trove destination. Beyond the streets, two castles (old and new) once owned by Sir Walter Raleigh, gaze wistfully at one another across an 18th-century lake and, beyond them, cattle-grazed meadows and forests roll on, and on into pure, West Country rural idyll."

"Unlike some of the more polished Somerset towns to the north or East Dorset 's gated, suburban stretches around Bournemouth, Sherborne feels positively non-commuter belt. And yet, the organic local butchers, the specialist coffee shops (where baristas paint watercolours between dispensing cappuccinos) and family-run delis offering pottery after six are precisely the slow-living, market town fantasy that fresher, hotspot equivalents riff on."

"The sense of community here is strong, with a lively monthly artisanal market, a thriving school (wartime code-breaker Alan Turing and Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin attended) and workshops - floristry, printmaking, poetry. There's a rich literary history too, with Sherborne depicted as Sherton Abbas in Thomas Hardy's novel, The Woodlanders, and Charles Dickens giving one of his most famous readings, A Christmas Carol, in Sherborne House (then owned by William Macready), which has reopened with a shiny new coat as an arts centre."

Sherborne features weather-beaten, biscuit-coloured buildings, a magnificent Abbey and antiquated streets filled with bakeries, galleries and coffee shops. Two castles once owned by Sir Walter Raleigh sit opposite each other across an 18th-century lake, beyond which meadows and forests extend into West Country countryside. The town resists commuter-belt feel while hosting organic butchers, specialist coffee shops and family-run delis that reflect a slow-living market-town character. A lively monthly artisanal market, workshops in floristry, printmaking and poetry, and a thriving school contribute to strong community life. A revived arts centre and new foodie and boutique ventures are energising the cultural scene.

Read at CN Traveller