Shaftesbury is a small market town in Dorset with a history going back to Saxon times. The town is one of the highest in the county at the breathtaking altitude of 750 feet, and on a reasonable day you are lucky to enjoy views over Thomas Hardy’s Blackmore Vale. It is an hour on the bus from Salisbury, winding through hamlets along the Chalke valley where most of England's watercress is grown.
Alfred the Great, later King Alfred, established an abbey here for his daughter. In medieval times the Abbey attracted pilgrims who came for blessings at the shrine of St Edward. It's wealth and power grew, but in 1539 it was closed and completely ransacked, one of the last monastries to be destroyed during Henry VIII's time.
Now there's a walled garden on the site and a small museum run by volunteers.
Calendars and bread adverts have made one street in Shaftesbury famous - Gold Street.
In 1973 Ridley Scott used Gold Street in an advertisement for Hovis Bread. This ad was voted as Britain's all-time favorite TV ad. 
Looks lovely. No doubt good cafes as well. Good to see you writing again!
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