MAIDEN NEWTON is a village in the heart of the rolling chalklands of Dorset. The Queen spent the night there on the Royal train in the early 1950s. Visit www.dorset-cc.gov.uk and www.westdorset.com or phone the Tourist Information Centre on 01305 267992

The town has pleasant, almost French air, with old stone houses and a fine medieval parish church that still shows damage from musket fire during the Civil War. You can explore the nearby watermeadows alongside the River Frome - a haven for wildlife with waterbirds and traditional meadow flowers. Once a branch line went down to Bridport from here: you can still follow its old track bed across the fields to the south and west.