Tyneham, Dorset - Abandoned World War II Village

Tyneham, often called Dorset's "lost village," was evacuated in late 1943 during World War II when the War Office requisitioned the land for D-Day training exercises. The village's 225 residents were given just days to pack up their lives, leaving behind homes that had been in their families for generations. They were promised they could return once the war ended, but this promise was never kept as the military decided to retain the land permanently for tank training. Today, the village lies within the Ministry of Defence's Lulworth Ranges and is only open to the public on certain days. Visitors can explore the ruins of the village, including the partially restored St. Mary's Church and the schoolhouse, which still displays children's work from their last day of classes. The village serves as a poignant time capsule of 1940s rural English life, with information boards throughout showing photographs and telling stories of the families who once lived there. While most of the cottages are now reduced to stone foundations, the church and school remain as silent witnesses to a community that sacrificed their homes for the war effort.