Built in the 12th century as a Cistercian monastery, Forde has been a private home since 1649. The building boasts magnificent plasterwork ceilings and fine tapestries but the gardens steal the show: 12 hectares of lawns, ponds, shrubberies and flower beds with hundreds of rare and beautiful species.
Forde Abbey is 10 miles north of Lyme Regis; public transport is a nonstarter.