My Kind of Town

Meet some of the people who are helping to make Dorchester such a vibrant and exciting place to live, work and play in

- Fanny Charles

Lorna Low, who for years was one of the organisers of Dorchester’s One World Festival, has lived in the county town since 1983:

“I moved here from London to set up a private practice in an ‘alternative therapy’ as they were then called.”

Lorna was very impressed by the historic landscape of her new location: “I first lived in a house on a fairly modern estate to the south of town, facing Maiden Castle. To have this long high ‘mound’ on the horizon and to be able to run or walk to it most days was a unique experience.” Lorna then read up on the history (and pre-history) of the county.

“Dorset County Museum was always excellent for this, and it’s going to be an even better place to visit when its massive re-vamp is completed later this summer. I can’t wait to see it. The museum and Dorchester Arts at the Corn Exchange will be the hub of the town’s culture.”

Lorna knows Thomas Hardy’s writings well and says that they give a good introduction to Dorchester. “You can walk by the river Frome, see the site of the prison where Tess of the D’Urbervilles was hung, and visit Max Gate, the house Hardy built. If you’re looking for more of a buzz there’s Brewery Square (once the site of Eldridge Pope’s brewery) or Prince Charles’s ‘village’ of Poundbury to the west of ‘the old town’. There is good eating and drinking in both places, and lovely views.”