natural wonder
Lulworth Cove
Almost perfectly circular cove formed by the sea eroding through Portland limestone, creating one of the world's finest examples of coastal geology.
7 km · about 15 min drive
EuropeUnited KingdomEngland
Wool
England, United Kingdom · Europe
About Wool
Wool works well as a base: 15 minutes from Wareham, 7km from Lulworth Cove.
Wool is in England, United Kingdom, with about 2,700 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Wareham, about 8 km away.
Wool is a large village, civil parish and electoral ward in south Dorset, England. In the 2011 census the parish – which includes Bovington Camp army base to the north – had 2,015 households and a population of 5,310. The village lies at a historic bridging point on the River Frome, halfway between Dorchester andRead more
Wareham. Woolbridge Manor House, a 17th-century building, is a prominent feature just outside the village and the location of Tess's honeymoon in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Other prominent features of the village include the medieval church of Holy Rood, the railway station on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth, and the thatched cottages along Spring Street.
The place-name 'Wool' is first attested in Anglo-Saxon Writs from 1002 to 1012, where it appears as Wyllon. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it appears as Wille and Welle, and as Welles in 1212 in the Book of Fees. The name means 'springs' in the sense of the related word wells.
Near Wool, to the east of the village, are the ruins of Bindon Abbey, which was demolished in the Dissolution of the Monasteries of 1539, the stone being used to build castles in Portland, Lulworth and Sandsfoot.
A small single-lane hump-backed stone bridge, a Grade II* listed structure about 200m north from the railway station, is no longer used for vehicular traffic. The place name Wullebrigg, recorded in 1244, indicates a crossing here in the thirteenth century and there is an extant record from 1343 of a bridge crossing the River Frome at this point. It has a stone half-way along it stating that those who deface or damage the bridge will be transported (sent to Australia or another penal colony) for the rest of their lives. In January 2018 one of the bridge's stone parapets collapsed, undermined by floodwater, but the arches remained undamaged.
Local places of interest include The Tank Museum and Monkey World. Nearby hamlets include East Burton and Giddy Green.
Where to Stay in Wool
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Wool?
Within an hour or so of Wool: Lulworth Cove (7 km), Man O’War Bay (7 km), Stair Hole (7 km), Durdle Door (8 km).
Are there any good drives near Wool?
The nearest famous roads are Rhinefield Ornamental Drive, Military Road, Isle of Wight and Cheddar Gorge Road (B3135).
Where is Wool?
Wool is in England, United Kingdom, about 8 km from Wareham.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 2,724
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- England
- Timezone
- Europe/London
- Coordinates
- 50.6797, -2.2189
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in United Kingdom
112 also works. NHS non-emergency medical advice: 111. National Highways breakdown assistance on motorways: 0300 123 5000.
Full driving guide for United KingdomTags
Worth the detour from Wool
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
beach
Man O’War Bay
A sheltered crescent of shingle immediately east of Durdle Door, enclosed by an offshore reef of eroded rock.
7 km · about 15 min drive
natural wonder
Stair Hole
A small collapsing cove beside Lulworth, showing the tightly folded Lulworth Crumple in its cliff face.
7 km · about 15 min drive
natural wonder
Durdle Door
Iconic natural limestone arch jutting into the sea on Dorset's Jurassic Coast, one of the most photographed landmarks in Britain.
8 km · about 15 min drive
natural wonder
Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove
A natural limestone arch and a near-perfect circular cove on the Jurassic Coast, linked by a clifftop path.
8 km · about 15 min drive
beach
Kimmeridge Bay
A dark shale bay with ledges exposed at low tide, a marine reserve and a working nodding-donkey oil well above.
11 km · about 20 min drive
castle
Corfe Castle
Atmospheric ruins of a thousand-year-old royal castle perched on a hilltop, dramatically slighted during the English Civil War.
12 km · about 25 min drive
ancient ruins
Maiden Castle
One of the largest Iron Age hillforts in Europe, its multiple ramparts enclosing an area the size of 50 football pitches.
18 km · about 20 min drive
Driving roads near Wool
- 19 kmBallard DownThe chalk ridge above Swanage running out to Old Harry Rocks, with views over Poole Harbour and Studland Bay.
- 25 kmPortland BillThe southern tip of the Isle of Portland, marked by a red-and-white lighthouse above a fierce tidal race.
- 44 kmGolden CapThe highest point on England's south coast at 191 m, its sandstone summit glowing gold above Charmouth and Lyme Bay.
- 46 kmRhinefield Ornamental DriveA New Forest road lined with giant redwoods and Douglas firs planted in 1859, running between Brockenhurst and the A35.
- 58 kmMilitary Road, Isle of WightThrilling clifftop road along the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight with sweeping sea views and access to dramatic landslip scenery.
Driving in United Kingdom
- Drives on
- the left
- Petrol
- ~€1.73/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
April to October
Nearby Destinations
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