Visit: Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth

After major refurbishment thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund this museum has reopened. In an extravagant version of an Italianate seaside villa the collection comprises a spectacular collection of Victorian and Edwardian paintings along with sculpture, decorative art and furniture. Currently there is a special exhibition entitled ‘20th Century Faces – Hidden Gems’ comprising portraits from the gallery collection. After lunch go to Wimborne Minster and visit this magnificent church, more like a mini-cathedral, which is given four stars by Simon Jenkins. It is filled with treasures including the superb Jacobean monument to Sir Edmund Uvedale dating from 1606.