Dorset: Country and Coast S01E03 - Episode 3

This episode features Weymouth with its beautiful golden beaches and historic harbour. We visit the town's oldest ice cream parlour and meet Fulvio and Aimee Figliolini, the father and daughter team carrying on the Rossi tradition. The ice cream is handmade the same way now as it was in 1937 when Aimee's great-grandfather first opened the parlour, and it's a favourite with locals and visitors alike.

A few miles outside Weymouth lie Bennetts Water Gardens. Originally a clay pit, the gardens were transformed in the mid-fifties by Norman Bennett. With over 300 varieties of water lily, it's like walking into Claude Monet's masterpiece The Water-Lily Pond.

We then head east to The Blue Pool Nature Reserve on the Isle of Purbeck. Set in 25 acres of heath, woodland and gorse, this former clay mine's waters glisten turquoise in the sunlight. It's home to wild ponies, pigs, grass snakes and even Walter the resident peacock, who visits the tea room each day for his breakfast scone.

On the western end of the Fleet Lagoon, visitors can walk among hundreds of nesting swans with their fluffy cygnets. Abbotsbury Swannery is the only managed colony of nesting mute swans in the world and we visit on the day of the Summer Fair.

At the Dorset Heavy Horse Farm, Richard Street and his daughter Taya look after their family of heavy horses. Known for their size and strength, these magnificent gentle giants were relied upon for their pulling power before mechanisation took over. Keen to keep these declining breeds alive, Richard and Taya spread awareness while providing families with a wonderful day out. We see one of their largest residents get new shoes. His feet are so big, the shoes have to be specially made.