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

October’s Walk of the Month

💦🌳🗡️🌤️ Wimborne – A landscape carved by Romans, rivers, religion and railways 🌤️🗡️🌳💦

‘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 August

See Top 5 walks for more!

Recent Posts

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

Creech Barrow

Climb to the peak of one of the Isle of Purbeck’s hidden gems. Wander through woodland before emerging onto sandy heath and gorse, climbing over the earthworks that scar the hillside on the way. From the summit, enjoy panoramic views across the blue waters of Poole Harbour and the forests of northern Dorset, stretching as … Continue reading Creech Barrow

Zig Zag Hill

Wander along the great natural divide between Dorset and Wiltshire, with wide views over the Nadder valley from Shaftesbury to Win Green. Follow the ancient Ox Drove, once travelled by herders moving livestock from Salisbury across the earthworks of Cranborne Chase to the lowlands of the Blackmore Vale. Twist with the bendiest road in Britain … Continue reading Zig Zag Hill

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