2 Best Sights in Cerne Abbas, The South

This colossal and unblushingly priapic figure, 180 feet long, dominates a hillside overlooking the village of Cerne Abbas. The giant carries a huge club and may have originated as a pre-Roman tribal fertility symbol. Alternatively, historians have tended to believe he is a representation of Hercules dating back to the 2nd century AD. Recent research suggests he may be a 17th-century gibe at Oliver Cromwell as there is nothing in the historical record before 1694 that mentions the figure, but other recent studies suggest the giant was first made by the Saxons between AD 700 and 1100.

The figure's outlines are formed by 1-foot-wide trenches cut into the ground to reveal the chalk beneath. The best place to view the figure is from the A352 itself, where you can park in one of the numerous nearby turnouts.

Little remains of this 10th-century Benedictine abbey. However, the grounds of the South Gate House (a private residence constructed in the 16th and 18th centuries using materials from the abbey, including its original Saxon doorway) has some later remnants. The Abbot's Porch, built in 1509, was once the entrance to the abbot's quarters and is notable for its double oriel window with carvings of small animals; the 15th-century guesthouse is one of the few surviving monastic hospices in the United Kingdom. At the other end of the village is the monastery's original Tithe Barn. You are welcome to look around the grounds at the owner's discretion for a small donation. There is also a cottage available for short-term vacation rentals on the grounds.