William Lush's Blue Coat School

The old Blue Coat School building sits quietly on the edge of Shaftesbury, a sturdy reminder of 18th-century charitable education. William Lush founded this place to teach poor children the basics - reading, writing, arithmetic - when most weren't getting any schooling at all. It's the sort of building that makes you think about how differently we approach education now.

The school itself is fairly modest from the outside, typical Georgian workmanship, nothing grand about it. What matters is what happened inside those walls. Kids would have worn their distinctive blue coats - a mark of charity that meant everyone knew their status. Sobering thought, really.

This isn't a place you'd spend hours at. Thirty minutes maximum to look around and absorb the history, longer if you're particularly into social history or education heritage. The real appeal is for those who enjoy understanding how communities actually worked, how philanthropy developed, and what schooling looked like before it became compulsory.

If you're based at Gold Hill Glamping just down the road, it's worth a wander into Shaftesbury proper - the school fits neatly into a broader walk around town. You could combine it with a proper look at the town itself, which sits high above the Blackmore Vale and genuinely justifies the leg-stretching. Check opening times locally before you go, as information isn't readily available online.