A TELEVISUAL journey through 'a county like no other' came to an end last night. 

Channel 5's six part series Dorset Country & Coast wrapped up with another whistlestop tour through the county.

The primetime show, screened at 8pm on the terrestrial channel on Wednesdays, has attracted a lot of local interest and has done much to promote the area as a holiday destination.

Taking centre stage in the final episode was the village of Cerne Abbas, best known for the mysterious chalk figure carved into the hillside, programme narrator Alan Titchmarsh said. 

The camera arrived in the pretty village as villagers offered visitors the chance to look beyond the garden gates in their open gardens event.

More than 30 residents were taking part in the open gardens event with organiser and villager Bob Foulser proudly displaying apothecary roses given to him by his mother. Another gardener, Jane Still, who grew up on the Gulf Coast of Texas, displayed her sensitivity and compassion for weeds with red campion providing some colour.

Despite last minute showers, residents were ready for the open gardens event with a flurry of visitors arriving and issued with a map of all the gardens open.

Elsewhere in Dorset, the cameras followed ex-police officers stopping speeders in Poole Harbour and went to a mini steam event at Poole Quay, where the engine Jenny B had come to a grinding halt.

The story of the Boscombe whale was shared with viewers, who heard about the 70ft long mammal washed up on a Dorset beach.

During the cold winter night of Tuesday January 5, 1897, a passing merchant ship struck an unfortunate blue whale just offf Bournemouth.

Over the next couple of days, the ebbing tides brought the creature to rest on the beach east of Boscombe Pier. Weighing more than 40 tonnes, the animal quickly drew an excited crowd.

It was auctioned off to a local GP and then remained on the pier for many years. Its lower jawbones were later found on a farm near Blandford.

Cameras also visited the Marsham Court Hotel in Bournemouth where staff were dealing with a split pipe and the late arrival of coaches full of holidaymakers.

  • Dorset Country & Coast is available to watch on Channel 5 catch-up service My 5.