Photo: Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Museums & Galleries in Dorset
Rainy day or culture fix, the museums and galleries around Dorset have you covered — think Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum, The Tank Museum and The Tank Museum — many are free, and the distances below help you pick the closest.
Museums & Galleries
0.1 mi from Dorset
Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum
The Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum tells the story of the Martyrs' arrest, trial and punishment, and how this led to the foundation of modern trade unionism. It grew from a small library...
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4.6 mi from Dorset
The Tank Museum
The Tank Museum is a large indoor attraction in Bovington, Dorset, telling the story of tanks and their crews. You can come face-to-face with over 300 tanks and hear powerful stori...
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4.6 mi from Dorset
The Tank Museum
The Tank Museum, in the Museums & Galleries category, brings the story of tanks and their crews to life in an awe-inspiring modern museum. You can come face-to-face with over 300 t...
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4.7 mi from Dorset
Cider Museum
Mill House Cider Museum in Owermoigne, Dorset, shows you how traditional cider was made, with displays of antique mills, presses and equipment dating back to the 18th and 19th cent...
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6.3 mi from Dorset
Dinosaur Museum
The Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester is Britain's original museum devoted entirely to dinosaurs, opened in 1984 close to the Jurassic Coast. Inside, you'll find pioneering interactive...
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6.3 mi from Dorset
The Teddy Bear Museum
The Dorset Teddy Bear Museum is a teddy bear museum in Dorchester, Dorset, south west England. It opened in 1990 in Bournemouth, before moving to Dorchester in 1995. It is the olde... — Wikipedia
6.6 mi from Dorset
The Tutankhamun Exhibition
This exhibition in the centre of Dorchester recreates Tutankhamun's tomb and treasures, including the ante-chamber and burial chamber as discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. You'll...
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6.7 mi from Dorset
The Keep Military Museum
The Keep Military Museum sits in Dorchester, Dorset, in a striking Victorian former barracks gatehouse built in 1879 and designed to resemble a Norman Castle. Inside, exhibits cove...
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9.4 mi from Dorset
Wareham Town Museum
Wareham Town Museum tells the story of the Wareham area of Dorset in southern England from prehistoric times to the present day, with a special exhibition on Lawrence of Arabia, wh... — Wikipedia
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9.4 mi from Dorset
Blandford Town Museum
Blandford Town Museum is a volunteer-run, free-to-enter museum in the centre of Blandford Forum, telling the story of the town and surrounding villages through permanent exhibits r...
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9.5 mi from Dorset
Blandford Fashion Museum
Blandford Fashion Museum is a historical fashion museum housed in Lime Tree House, a Georgian townhouse in Blandford Forum, Dorset. Founded by the late Mrs Betty Penny MBE in 1996,...
10.5 mi from Dorset
Tyneham
Tyneham is a ghost village abandoned in 1943 and former civil parish, now in the parish of Steeple with Tyneham, in the Dorset district, in the south of Dorset, England, near Lulwo... — Wikipedia
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11.4 mi from Dorset
Blue Pool
The Blue Pool is a nature reserve and tearooms set within the 300-acre Furzebrook Estate near Wareham on the Isle of Purbeck. Once a 17th-century clay pit, it filled with rainwater...
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11.4 mi from Dorset
Royal Signals Museum
Regimental museum in Tarrant Monkton, Dorset, United Kingdom
11.7 mi from Dorset
Nothe Fort
Nothe Fort is Weymouth's historic sea fort, set on the Jurassic Coast and home to a museum packed with things to explore. You can wander the maze of underground tunnels, visit the...
12 mi from Dorset
Weymouth Museum
Weymouth Museum tells the story of the town through a varied collection, from a Tudor carved panel to brewery memorabilia, plus items connected to Sandsfoot Castle, HMS Weymouth an...
12 mi from Dorset
Tudor House
The Tudor House Museum, often simply known as Tudor House, is an early 17th-century building, which remains a museum and one of the UK's best preserved Tudor buildings. It is in We... — Wikipedia
12 mi from Dorset
Museum of Jurassic Marine Life
The Museum of Jurassic Marine Life, home to The Etches Collection, is a modern museum showcasing amazing fossils of the marine life that lived in Jurassic Dorset's seas 157 million...
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Where to stay near Dorset
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Dorset
Itineraries
- A weekend in Bournemouth: an accessible itinerary · 2 days
- A weekend in Bournemouth with the kids · 2 days
- A weekend in Bournemouth · 2 days
Haunted Britain
Make a day of it
Lots of UK museums are free with a suggested donation, and paid ones often do annual passes for little more than a day ticket — worth it if you're local or returning.
See everything on one page with things to do in Dorset, or turn the day trip into a break with places to stay in Dorset.
Frequently asked questions
How far are these from Dorset?
Every attraction shows its distance from Dorset — most families find up to 30 miles workable for a day out, and the list is sorted nearest first.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Dorset.