Dorset Adventures

Explore the deepest, darkest corners of Dorset by foot, wheel or hoof. Discover hidden ruins, beautiful views and ancient monuments. Visit places where mystery exists but only traces remain. Follow the footsteps of our ancestors and escape into this wonderful landscape.

Search for a place, theme, activity or era to find a self-guided adventure for you.

For a quick guide see Dorset Inspiration

Check out the Ultimate Jurassic Coast Drive

Or discover The Stourton Caundle Stile Trail

November’s Walk of the Month

🌳🌤️ Long Bredy and it’s mysterious ancient landscape 🌤️🌳

‘The most comprehensive site on walking in Dorset’ – Folde Bookshop

Hand drawn maps are provided for every area mentioned. Prints are also available. See Map page for the full selection.

Articles by Tess of the Vale also feature in Dorset Magazine

For any queries please feel free to contact me.

Top 5 most popular walks of October

See Top 5 walks for more!

Recent Posts

Ackling Dyke

Slightly overshadowed by the more famous Watling Street and Fosse Way, Ackling Dyke is Dorset’s most prominent Roman Road. Running for around 22 miles (35 km) from Old Sarum (Sorviodunum) to Badbury Rings, this spectacular Roman road survives in places as a substantial raised agger, still clearly visible in the landscape. But Ackling Dyke was … Continue reading Ackling Dyke

Dorset Witches

Across England from the 15th to the 18th century, fear of female power shaped a culture in which women were relentlessly pushed into the shadows, their knowledge and independence recast as danger. By the time King James published ‘Daemonologie’ in 1597, witchcraft panic had become a widespread phenomenon. The typical victim of an English witch … Continue reading Dorset Witches

Dole’s Ash

Explore a landscape shaped by thousands of years of human activity, from Bronze Age burial mounds and great prehistoric cross-dykes to Romano-British fields and a lost medieval settlement. Skirt Dole’s Ash, Thomas Hardy’s inspiration for Flintcomb-Ash in Tess of the d’Urbervilles, before climbing the ancient ridges surrounding secluded Lyscombe Bottom and returning across the open … Continue reading Dole’s Ash

Colber

Follow the valley of the River Stour through the heart of the Blackmore Vale. Circle the edge of the meadows beneath Sturminster Newton before crossing the Victorian Colber Bridge. Climb out of the Stour valley before dropping into the valley of the River Divelish, its name deriving from its dark waters rather than anything devilish. … Continue reading Colber

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