Gillingham (with a hard G, as in "get") is the most northerly town in Dorset on the edge of the Blackmore Vale.

St. Georges Church, Langham Lane

Get in

By car

Five minutes from the A303, main route to the West Country from London.

By train

South West trains run to 1 Gillingham station from London Waterloo in 2 hours. The station is on the London Waterloo to Exeter main line.

By bicycle

National Cycle route 25 or alternatively the Stour Valley Way long distance path

By plane

Compton Abbas Airfield

Get around

• Infrequent local buses with very few routes.
• Star Taxis, ☏ +44 1747 822228. 
• T A Taxis, ☏ +44 1747 821111. 

See

• 1 Stourhead, near Mere, BA12 6QD, ☏ +44 1747 841152, stourhead@nationaltrust.org.uk. National Trust gardens.  
• 2 St. Georges Church, Langham Lane. A thatched church built in 1921 as a memorial to the first world war. (updated Mar 2016)
• 3 The local museum, Chantry Fields, SP8 4UA, ☏ +44 1747 826235. M 10AM-1PM, Tu Th F 10AM-5PM, Sa 9:30AM-4PM. Free, donations welcome.. 
• Ecliffe Mill. and the river Stour 

Do

• 1 Zig Zag Hill (On the B3081). Ascend Top Gear's favourite, Zig Zag Hill purportedly the bendiest road in the UK. Comparable to the alpine roads in Switzerland. 
• Culver’s Farm Fishery, ☏ +44 1747 822466. Carp, bream, roach and tench fishing. 
• Walk the Stour Valley Way which follows the river Stour from its source at Stourhead to the sea at Christchurch.

Events

• Carnival processions in October.

Buy

• Neal's Yard Remedies Factory and shop, Peacemarsh, ☏ +44 845 262 3145. 
• Chester Jefferies Ltd, ☏ +44 1747 822629. Glove manufacturers, Factory and shop. Makes a speciality of gloves for the film industry. 

Sleep

• 1 The Ship Inn & Hotel, West Stour, ☏ +44 1747 838640. Country pub and restaurant with 5 rooms. (updated Oct 2017)

Go next

Routes through Gillingham

Exeter ← Wincanton ←

W  E

→ Stonehenge → London