Bloomfield is situated in a fantastic central location for lots of the amazing events that happen in this beautiful county, so just set up your Bloomfield base and enjoy what’s on offer in Dorset.
If festivals are your thing then Dorset will not disappoint. One of Dorsets fabulous festivals is pretty much on the Bloomfield doorstep. Just a 15 minute drive will take you to the Georgian town of Blandford Forum which is home to the Teddy Rocks Festival. The 2022 festival is running from Friday 29th April to Sunday 1st May. This is a very family friendly festival packed with activities, food, and most importantly fantastic music. All proceeds made at the Teddy Rocks Festival go to the Teddy 20 charity which raises money to help children and their families receiving treatment for cancer which makes this event a great one to support.
Heading to Shaftesbury, Gold Hill Festival is an excellent day out full of entertainers, musicians, great food and stalls. The high light for us is definitely sitting in the Abbey grounds in the sun listening to the different musical performances from local bands with a picnic made up from food brought from one of the fabulous food vendors along Park Walk. Also the Morris Dancers are usually present which is always very entertaining. The Gold Hill Festival is being held on 3rd July.
We’ll stay in Shaftesbury for another couple of festivals. The first is Shaftesbury Fringe (22nd to 24th July). This is a not to miss event due to it’s amazing diversity. Shaftesbury welcomes musicians, comedians, dancers and many more to its Fringe Festival and the best part is that all performances are held throughout the town in all sorts of locations so not only are you entertained you can also enjoy visiting different areas of the town which you perhaps wouldn’t usually have been to.
If you are in Dorset in the Spring (8th May) you can’t miss the Shaftesbury Food and Drink Festival even if it’s just for the fun of the cheese races that take place on the famous Gold Hill. It’s not all about the cheese though, the high street is lined with food stalls including offerings from the Dorset Farmers Market. Lots of local produce is on offer to see, try and buy.
Now this is a big one, The Great Dorset Steam Fair. This year the period of Thursday 25th August until Monday 29th August is dominated by this grand event. With steam engines galore, tractors, motorbikes, classic cars, monster trucks, heavy horses, stunt displays, entertainment, music, food, fairground…..the list is endless and really is a full on event that is worth every penny. The added bonus of the Steam Fair is that it is all just a 20 minute drive from Bloomfield.
Another fantastic event on 10th and 11th September that is just 15 minutes from Bloomfield is the Sturminster Newton Cheese festival. If you like cheese there are plenty to sample, both local and from around the country but there’s more to the festival than just cheese. The festival has entertainers, live music from local bands and plenty of stalls to suit everybody. It would probably be rude to go to the cheese festival and not sample a drop of local cider while you’re there!
If you are thinking of giving us a visit and want to know a little bit more about what’s going on in the area there is a fantastic website indorset.com that can give you more information.