About the village of Tisbury, Wiltshire

Tisbury is a large, historic village 13 miles west of Salisbury in Wiltshire.

It is the largest village in the area and as such serves as a hub for surrounding communities. With a range of independent shops; award-winning florist, delicatessen, fishmonger and butcher as well as a small supermarket and chemist, Tisbury provides an array of handy amenities for local residents. Place Farm is one of the largest existing tithe barns in the UK.

Tisbury train station

Tisbury station is on the main West of England line. This means that villagers are within commuting distance of London. The journey time from Tisbury to London Waterloo is around an hour and a half whilst trains also run in the opposite direction to Exeter St David.

St Johns Primary School

St Johns Primary School promotes an inclusive learning environment with an emphasis on the individual needs of the child. The creative curriculum is designed to engage the child in their thirst for knowledge.

Churches

Church of England and 12^th century St John the Baptist Church is Grade I listed with it’s churchyard featuring a 4000 year old yew tree. The Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart was built in the late 19^th Century and the Methodist Church on Tisbury High Street in 1902.

Tisbury pubs, restaurants and cafes

Beatons Tea Room with an elegant Cecil Beaton inspired décor, on the High Street provides tempting breakfast, lunch and tea time treats. It is the perfect place to meet a friend and offers a wide selection of coffee and tea choices.

Pythouse Walled Garden, close to Tisbury is a beautiful 18^th Century walled kitchen garden shop and café. It is the perfect place to relax, wander and enjoy a delicious lunch or tea time snack. Every Friday evening, The Pyt House offers a seasonal dinner menu.

The Boot Inn at the top of Tisbury High Street is a picturesque pub made of Chilmark stone. It was first licensed in 1768 and has a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

The Bennet Arms is a dog friendly Keystone Brewery pub that has a diverse menu and woodfired pizza made to order every Tuesday early evening.

The South Western is a Victorian railway hotel and pub set a stones throw from Tisbury Station.

Sports services

Tisbury Sports Centre is currently undergoing a period of modernization and the new site for the new Nadder Valley Sports Centre will offer a large fitness and wellness suite as well as pre-school, office and crèche facilities. Currently there is a popular gym, soft play zone for toddlers and a large indoor sports area.  Tisbury Sports Centre offers holiday and term time clubs to keep local children busy.

Minutes away from the Sports Centre, is Tisbury Swimming Pool. This old-fashioned village lido is open from mid May to September and provides sessions for toddlers, early morning and adult only swim sessions and after school fun sessions. The swimming pool is also available for private hire.

Houses for sale and rent in Tisbury

Rural View Estate Agents offer a selection of houses for sale and rent in and around the Tisbury area. For more information or any other details on local services, please call us on 01722 716895.

Introduction to the county of Dorset

Dorset has long been regarded as the epitome of the ideal rural county and when searching for a character country property for sale or rent, it is often the first one that comes to mind. With its slower paced lifestyle, incredibly beautiful and varied scenery, stunning coastline, rich history and literary connections, it really is a very special place. It is not surprising that it has the highest proportion of its land classified as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest than any county in England.

Dorset shares its borders with four counties; Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire and has a long undulating coastline, much of it designated a World Heritage Site and known as the Jurassic Coast due to its unique geological landforms including Lulworth Cove,  Durdle Door and Chesil Beach.

The inland landscape consists of chalk and limestone ridges such as Cranborne Chase, the Dorset Downs and the Isle of Purbeck interspersed with wide clay vales including the Blackmore Vale and Frome Valley. The southeastern part of the county in contrast is sand and gravel based, giving rise to a heathland habitat with water erosion resulting in the formation of Poole Harbour, the second largest natural harbour in the World.

Half of Dorset’s population of 693,000 live in the large Bournemouth/Poole/ Christchurch urban conurbation but otherwise much of the rest of the county (1,024 sq miles) is distinctly rural and is divided into five districts.

Property and Homes in Dorset

Rural View market cottages and houses for sell and rent in North Dorset. It consists of two areas of rolling downland dissected by the broad valley formed by the River Stour. There are just the four towns; Blandford Forum is perhaps the finest examples of a Georgian market town in the country, Sturminster Newton is known for its annual cheese festival and picturesque water mill; the Saxon hilltop town of Shaftesbury is famous for Gold Hill and Gillingham has many useful facilities.

Living in Dorset

West Dorset is the largest area and is mainly agricultural with lovely unspoilt countryside. The county capital, Dorchester has Roman origins and is closely associated with the author Thomas Hardy, it is also situated near Maiden Castle, the largest hill fort in Britain. The abbey town of Sherborne boasts two castles whilst Bridport used to regularly appear in the cooking programme Riverside Cottage and Lyme Regis is a pretty seaside town on the Devon border.

The seas off the regency seaside town Weymouth and the Isle of Portland are amongst the best in Europe for water sports and were used for the Olympic Sailing Regatta in 2012. Portland stone has been used in the construction of some of most iconic buildings in London including St Pauls Cathedral and Buckingham Palace.

The Isle of Purbeck is actually a hilly peninsula of heathland guarded by the remains of Corfe Castle. Once quarried for its stone and ‘marble’, tourism, farming and oil production are its main industries now with Wytch Farm being the largest on-shore oil field in the UK and Swanage a popular traditional seaside destination.

As with much of the county, East Dorset is principally rural with large tracts of undulating farmland interspersed with pretty villages, much of it being part of the Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding natural Beauty. Wimborne Minster is the principal town.

The right choice of school can of course have an enormous impact on a child’s education, development, well-being and future prospects. It is for this reason that the region is so popular with parents due to the excellent choice of schools in both the state and private sectors across all age ranges. The location of the family home can therefore be crucial, particularly with state schools, so as to ensure that it is situated within the catchment area of the desired school.

Buying property near good local schools

Many buyers and tenants are drawn to Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset from not only London and other parts of the UK but also from overseas because of the reputation of the local schools, some of which can claim to be amongst the most prestigious in the country.

There are one or two towns in the area that act as educational ‘hubs’ as they boast having more than one leading school. These include Salisbury (Wiltshire) with its two grammer schools; Bishop Wordsworth’s (boys) and South Wilts (girls) and several private schools with The Goldophin (girls) being just one.  The small town of Bruton (Somerset) is another and Sherborne (Dorset) is a third being home of one of the well-known boys’ public school.

Visit our blog posts for local school lists in specific areas:

south east somerset schools
north west hampshire schools
north dorset schools
south wiltshire schools

Wiltshire, Dorset & Hampshire Cricket Clubs

The thwack of leather against willow followed by a polite round of clapping must surely be an integral part of village life on a summer’s day. A game of mysterious rules, strange traditions and bizarre terminology for many, cricket is an essential part of living in the country even if they don’t play or even understand what it’s all about.

Cricket is a very sociable sport and still largely played in a gentlemanly and friendly spirit between the two teams and has the ability to unite different generations and backgrounds. The traditions and rituals are an essential part of the game including the preparation of the wicket, changing room banter, toss, the fielding team clapping in each new batsman, gargantuan teas, dozing in a deck chair at cow corner and post-match beer. It is also the subject of many a conversation in the village pub over the winter months.

Integrating into the local rural community

Most clubs are very welcoming of new members irrespective of age or ability. If you are looking for properties to sell or rent in Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset or Hampshire and are interested in cricket, get in touch with us and we may be able point you in the right direction.

For anyone interested in reading more about the joys of village cricket or wanting to grasp the concepts of the game and its language, Si White, a friend of Mark’s and fellow team mate at Damerham Cricket Club, has written an excellent, information and funny book called The Effing C Word. Mark even gets a couple of mentions in it!

Local village cricket clubs