Visiting Sherborne during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sherborne is pleased to welcome back visitors to its beautiful historic town. You will find many attractions and shops ready to welcome you, with their Covid-19 safety measures in place. Most shops and cafes are now open and will be delighted to see you. There is plenty of parking close to the centre and it costs as little as 40p/hour.

Is the town centre open?

With many shops, cafes, restaurants, and pubs now open (all with appropriate measures for your safety) the Town Council has erected hand sanitising stations in the main street to give you that extra bit of reassurance.  You will also find stencil markings on the public highway displaying a range of messages to help with social distancing.  Various banners have also been erected in prominent areas of the town displaying social distancing messages. 

A temporary traffic regulation order is currently in place to pedestrianise Cheap Street between the hours of 10am and 4pm.  The town is well-signposted for pedestrians, and you will find directional maps in several locations to help you find your way around.  

Which business are reopening?

All businesses that plan to reopen or that have opened must follow and adhere to the government COVID-19 secure guidelines, this includes all businesses associated with providing services for tourism. Please look out for external and internal signage and follow the procedures that are put in place for each individual business, as restrictions will vary.

All retail, cafes, restaurants, pubs, and bars are now able to reopen provided they adhere to prevailing government guidelines. Please look out for external and internal signage and follow the procedures that are put in place for each individual business, as arrangements will vary.
Most businesses will be able to take cash but will prefer payment by debit/credit card or apple pay.
 

Will the weekly market be open?

Yes the markets have now reopened.
Sherborne Pannier Market – Thursdays and Saturdays
Dorset Farmers’ Market – 3rd Friday of each month

Will the toilets be open?

The public toilets, including three RADAR-operated disabled toilets, are all open, read more about public toilets in Dorset.

Will the car parks be open?

The car parks are all open, and parking charges apply, read more about car parks in Dorset.

Can I use public transport to visit?

Yes there are good connections to Sherborne by train, Sherborne is on the main Exeter to Waterloo train line which is run by South Western Railways.

Bus routes operating to Sherborne include:
Bus: X10 Yeovil - Sherborne - Stalbridge – Blandford via Milborne Port - Henstridge - Sturminster Newton
58/58A 58: Yeovil - Sherborne – Wincanton via Milborne Port - Henstridge - Templecombe
58A: Yeovil - Sherborne - Stalbridge – Wincanton via Milborne Port - Henstridge – Templecombe
Routes are operated by First Bus.

X11 Sherborne to Dorchester operated by South West Coaches

Coaches are also running, the coach to and from London is departing from Tiverton - Wellington - Taunton - Ilminster - South Petherton - Yeovil - Ilchester - RNAS Yeovilton (6 miles from Sherborne) – Wincanton (10 miles from Sherborne).

Is the Tourist Information Centre open?

The office is open to customers on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am - 2pm. Alternatively, and when the office is closed, please telephone: 01935 815341 and leave a message, or email our information centre and a member of the team will contact you.

Will there be events taking place?

If you would like to receive a monthly email of ‘What’s On in Dorset’ please contact our information centre or search our website visit-dorset.com/whats-on

Will there be things for me to do when I visit?

Sherborne has the following attractions.

Sherborne Abbey
Sherborne Castle
Sherborne Old Castle 
Historic Guided Walk of Sherborne
Minterne Gardens 

Given the fast-changing environment we suggest you check individual websites before you visit.

Look out for the ‘We’re Good to Go’ consumer mark logos UK-wide industry standard.
This signals that a tourism and hospitality business has worked hard to follow Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines and has a process in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.