Carole is a colourist abstract artist – John a graphic & garden designer.

They lived in Hertfordshire for many years before moving to Dorset 25 years ago. They recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and have two adult daughters and three grandchildren. Having lived around Lulworth for over twenty years, they are delighted to share their extensive knowledge of Dorset and the surrounding area to help make your stay enjoyable and memorable. Much of the artwork in the house is Carole’s and the larger garden as a developing project for John.

John went to school on the coast in Dorset near Lyme Regis and holidayed every year at Kimmeridge nearby as a child and later on with Carole & their daughters. John has been a keen gardener since the age of four when his grandmother showed him how to take cuttings. He chose art school over horticultural college but having studied graphic design worked in publishing as a creative director and then designing many show gardens including achieving a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show, he managed to combine the two. When not gardening he now designs gardens specifically for coastal locations. You will find him often out walking, bird watching, wildlife watching and fossiling with their dog Lily.

Carole trained as a nurse in Glasgow and worked in various London hospitals before gaining a fine art degree after having their children. She won the BBC Fresh Arts Award and had a fellowship with the Henry Moore Foundation in Hertfordshire before teaching children and working as an artist in residence in schools. She has exhibited at Dorset Arts Week along with shows in London and Europe. Carole when not working in her studio likes walking and Yoga.

“We try to be organic and green as we can!”

Carole & John try to be as green as possible in running our home and garden, from growing a lot of our own produce in the allotment garden opposite the house. We pick fresh flowers, fruit & vegetables from the garden when available for our guest rooms and breakfast. We line dry all our laundry when weather conditions permit.

“We enjoy and encourage as much wildlife into the garden as possible!”

Being so lucky to live in such a beautiful & wild place we have many resident and wildlife visitors to the garden and around. We have many bird feeders to bring a wonderful variety of resident and migratory birds close to the house. We have badgers (who sometimes dig up the lawn overnight outside the bedroom windows!), along with Sika and Roe deer. We have had squirrels, hedgehogs, slow worms and grass snakes visit us! We are lucky in summer to have giant green bush crickets chirping in the grass and sometimes if you’re very lucky to see glow-worms twinkling in the evening. A couple of minutes walk onto Bindon Hill opposite the house which is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI) has many rare plants and flowers including four different orchid types. It also is unique breeding place for many varieties of unusual butterflies and moths.

“We love meeting people and take great pleasure in helping our guests to make as much out of their holiday as they can!”

Lulworth House has again been selected and inspected by the highly rated Alistair Sawday’s Special Places To Stay 2014-2021 and is included in their collection Special Paces By The Sea!