SHOPPING ON THE HEART OF WESSEX LINE

BRUTON: An attractive historic town with a small number of independent retailers. Map and brief guide to the highlights of the town (1.32MB PDF) can be downloaded here. www.brutontown.com has more up to date detail about the town and its facilities.

CASTLE CARY: The local community from Castle Cary and Ansford have created their very own "Insider's Guide" with everything you might need including great tips for eating, shopping, and exploring, and some fascinating historical background to this charming honey coloured town. The guide can be downloaded at www.castle-cary.co.uk.

YEOVIL: An excellent destination for shopping, as its broad range of retailers are clustered in a relatively compact area, much of it pedestrianised. A good mix of big names and interesting independent stores. There are plenty of cafes, and splashes of greenery and floral displays make this a pleasant and relaxing place to shop. Our PDF mini guide includes a simplified map and some of the highlights of the town. A more detailed map can be downloaded from www.visitsouthsomerset.com , and if you are searching for something special, the Town Council's own website has a comprehensive listing of retailers www.yeoviltown.com.

DORCHESTER: A vibrant market town with a great mix of high street names and specialist independent shops. With a main pedestrianised area flanked by arcades full of interesting finds, this a great destination for fashion, arts and crafts and, befitting its literary connection with Thomas Hardy, books. A great market on Wednesdays is just a short walk from the station. If you are looking for something particular www.dorchesterdorset.com has a good search facility and www.westdorset.com has a PDF map of Dorchester on their page about Dorchester TIC.

WEYMOUTH: A vibrant town centre and Brewer's Quay make Weymouth a good shopping destination year round. More details on www.visitweymouth.co.uk.