Organisers of an event which aims to celebrate Dorset's heritage say 2018 was a spectacularly successful year.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of Dorset Architectural Heritage Week, and featured everything from a boutique hotel and historic castle to air raid shelters and a traffic free high street.

Between September 6 and 16 several thousand visitors took the opportunity to explore and enjoy the county’s rich architectural history.

This year’s longest ever 11 day programme gave visitors the opportunity to enjoy 270 separate events taking place across 72 different venues in the county - every one of them free.

From tiny Byngley House Hotel in Poole to magnificent Lulworth Castle, and from the WWII Air Raid Shelter in the grounds of Bournemouth’s Talbot School to the closure of historic High West and East Streets in Dorchester to traffic for a whole day there was something for everyone to enjoy.

With requests for tickets coming not just from Dorset itself but also from surrounding counties Hampshire, Wiltshire and Surrey demand for tickets on some of the most popular events led to long waiting lists for returned tickets.

The team at the Heritage Week Booking Office did their best to ensure that everyone had the chance to visit at least one property on their wish lists with over 1000 tickets issued to eager visitors in August alone. And the non-bookable events that did not require a pre-booked ticket were just as busy with more than 1,100 people visiting the newly refurbished Shire Hall in Dorchester as well as 18th Century Belmont in Lyme Regis and almost 500 visitors enjoying the Priest’s House Museum in Wimborne.

Event manager Ian Utley was keen to praise the efforts and the goodwill of the many volunteers who led the events, none of whom receive a penny for their hours of hard work. He said: “Thank you to all of the owners, experts, volunteers and guardians who took part this year. Heritage Week could not take place without your hard work and the number of visitors we have seen this September demonstrates that your contribution is hugely appreciated by the public.”

The dates for the 2019 Dorset Architectural Heritage Week have now been confirmed as September 13 to 22. Further updates can be found throughout the year on the event website www.dahw.org.uk or by following @dorsetAHW on Twitter or heritageweekdorset on Facebook.