Blandford Forum

Blandford Forum suffered a major fire in 1731 which destroyed most of the town leaving 480 families homeless. The town was rebuilt in the next ten years in a grand Goergian style to the designs of local architect brothers John and William Bastard.
The town has a population of 10,600. A major local employer is the army which has a camp (opened in 1724) two miles outside the town.

There is no train service to Blandford Forum. The nearest main line station is at Salisbury or Wimborne Minster. The town is 15 miles (24 km) from Poole railway station and 15 miles (24 km) miles from Bournemouth Airport. In order to reach the town by public transport, it is possible to take the X8 service from Poole (hourly, takes 40 minutes), the 20 service from Salisbury (four trips per day, takes 52 minutes), the X10 from Yeovil (every two hours, 105 minutes), or the X12 from Weymouth (every two hours, 70 minutes).

Blandford Forum is a small town, and so sees a very limited bus service (only one route runs around the town every half hour). However, the town is small enough for walking to be convenient. There are also local taxi firms.

• Royal Signals Museum

  phone: +44 1258 482248
  address: Blandford Camp, DT11 8RH
  Museum about the army Royal Corps of Signals. The museum is inside an army camp and photo ID (passport etc) is required for entry.

• Blandford Town Museum

  address: Beres Yard, Blandford Forum DT11 7HQ
  Museum of town history with a model railway and Victorian child's playroom.

• Blandford Fashion Museum

  address: Lime Tree House, The Plocks
  Ten-room museum of fashion history covering the period from 1740 to 1970.

• Church of St Peter and St PaulParish church designed and built by John and William Bastard between 1733 and 1739. The church has a particularly fine interior. Coffee is served in the church every Saturday 10A-noon.

Events

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There is a variety of restaurants and fast food in Blandford Forum. Try:

• Simla Tandoori

  phone: +44 1258 452096 or +44 1258 480330
  address: 12 West Street

Out of town

• Lay-by food van

  address: A354
  Great road-side, cooked to order, bacon, egg and sausage sandwiches

• Crown Hotel

  phone: +44 1258 456626
  address: West Street, DT11 7AJ

• Wimborne Minster is a charming town nearby.
• Shaftesbury
• Wareham