On topic as this is part of a long weekend of biking 🙂

Despite living in the area all my life until a few years ago, I don’t know which bunkhouse/inns/B&B’s are to be recommended.

We’re looking for accomodation for 6-8 people, mixture of couples and singles, good pub food onsite/nearby for one night midweek. Cheap is good but realisticly up to £70 per room based on two sharing.

Ideally it’d be somewhere like Corfe Castle/Wareham/Blandford/Dorchester.

Thanks 🙂

I can highly reccomend ferndown farm: http://www.dorsetescape.com/

They’ve a converted barn which is very cool; open plan, ideal for a party with an enormous log burner and room for 10 at a squeeze, and a cottage with a warren of separate rooms which is more cosy but sleeps the same.

David who owns the place is a real character who’s super helpful. Let him know that Tim Armstrong sent you and he’ll see you right.

Also, its slap bang in the middle (i.e one of the bridleways runs through it) of the 35 miler that was featured in STW a few issues ago.

We’ve hiired the cottage and barn a few times for various family gatherings and couldn’t reccomend them highly enough. We’ve had fantastic trips on every occasion.

Tim aka CSFL

CSFL…that looks fantastic, though it appears they are geared towards week bookings rather than individual nights 🙁

We need a Tuesday night immediately after the second bank holiday in May so I can’t see us getting a self catering cottage/barn as they won’t have problems renting it out for the whole week 🙁

Any other suggestions?

Bankes Arms, Corfe (I used it as it was on ebay (Dorset, Tickets and Travel) and got 2 nights B&B&EM for 97 for 2 and at that rate it was a bargain.

*If you go direct haggle, it was fine but I felt that it (and other local hosteleries) were tourist charging ie food prices at reality + 30%.

I’ll have a wander around Dorch for you and see what it throws up….

There’s plenty of B+B/Hotel type things here!

Sydney arms pub has recently had some rooms fitted upstairs – not sure how many, but are pretty cheap per room (maybe 40ish)

DrP

Its an area that really does need some simple bunkhouse accom….I have been visiting the Isle of Purbeck for many years – and as I live an hour an half away would love to find somewhere cheap, clean and basic to stay.

When the weather improves I will usually kip in the Veedubya but this time of year is a tad too bleak for that.

There is very very little accom for the ‘its just a bed for the night’ type.

Went down a few weekends ago and ended up staying in Swanage in a medieval themed B&B…which was ….errrrm nice?? And at £85 for a double hardly a bargain.

I windsurf K – bay and mountain bike the area – I too would love to hear of any hidden gems that might be down that way.

spooky, give David a ring, if he’s not got anyone in there on those days then he might let you have it for less than a week. Alternatively he might just drop the price for the week to make it worth your while and you can just fill it for the days you’re available.

brack, did find one bunkhouse in swanage aimed at divers. £16 a night plus £2.50 for bedding but we’d prefer something a little more like an in.

dr p, thanks
cfsl, will give them a ring if nothing else pops up, thanks 🙂