Times are tough and purse strings are tied tight so what better way to enjoy the holidays than enter Dorset’s free and wild landscape. The cost of an adventure park is often way out of limits, but could be completely unnecessary!
Dorset is rich with treasure, surprises, secrets, mystery and legend that can all be discovered at no cost. Starting at or near a place of refreshment, it is possible to venture out into the countryside and experience the variety of Dorset, without the price of a ticket!
On foot or wheel discover magical trees, spiritual burials, rope swings and waterfalls. Climb high to find panoramic views and low into the dark, shadowy valleys. Splash in the rivers, in the waves or find the wildlife in the woods. Touch, feel and find the treasure in the landscape that would often be roped off in a museum. This is only a moment in time, this treasure could soon be lost or more may be found. The landscape is constantly changing with every season and development. There will always be new (or old) things to see!
Enjoy at your own pace, knowing the reward of a roasting fire, hearty meal or refreshing drink is not far away!
Search the Parish list…
| Parish | Walk Starts/Finishes | Walk Transects | District | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsbury | Abbotsbury, St Catherine's Chapel, Abbotsbury Railway, South Dorset Ridgeway | Rodden, West Bexington | West Dorset | |
| Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle | Lawrence of Arabia, Affpuddle | Bere Regis, Pallington, Woodbury | Purbecks | |
| Alderholt | Alderholt, Crendell | East Dorset | ||
| Allington | PARISH ABOLISHED APRIL 2024 - See Bridport | West Dorset | ||
| Alton Pancras | Wessex Ridgeway, Alton Pancras | Plush | West Dorset | |
| Anderson | Coombs Ditch | World's End, St Edward's Way | North Dorset | |
| Arne | Arne, Ridge, Wytch | Stoborough | Purbecks | |
| Ashmore | Wessex Ridgeway | Compton Abbas Airfield | North Dorset | |
| Askerswell | Eggardon, West Compton, | Chilcombe, Dorset Hillforts | West Dorset | |
| Athelhampton | Athelhampton | Spooky Places | West Dorset | |
| Batcombe | Batcombe, Redford | Up Cerne, Up Sydling, Hilfield | West Dorset | |
| Beaminster | Buckham Down, Parnham, Beaminster Down | Netherbury, North Poorton | West Dorset | |
| Beer Hackett | Knighton | Yetminster | West Dorset | |
| Bere Regis | Bere Regis, Woodbury | Winterborne Kingston | Purbecks | |
| Bettiscombe | Bettiscombe | West Dorset | ||
| Bincombe | Bincombe | Upwey | West Dorset | |
| Bishop's Caundle | Bishop's Caundle | A3030, Folke | West Dorset | |
| Blandford Forum | The Crown, North Dorset Trailway | Bryanston | North Dorset | |
| Blandford St Mary | The Crown, Bryanston, Charlton Marshall | North Dorset | ||
| Bloxworth | Bloxworth | Woodbury, Wareham Forest, St Edward's Way | Purbecks | |
| Bothenhampton | Shipton Gorge | West Dorset | ||
| Bourton | Silton, Penselwood | North Dorset | ||
| Burton and Winkton | Burton | East Dorset | ||
| Bradford Abbas | Bradford Abbas | West Dorset | ||
| Bradford Peverell | Bradford Peverell | Dorchester, Muckleford | West Dorset | |
| Bradpole | Loders | West Dorset | ||
| Bridport | Allington | West Dorset | ||
| Broadmayne | Broadmayne | West Knighton | West Dorset | |
| Broadwindsor | Lewesdon | Buckham Down, Drimpton, Pilsdon, Laycock | West Dorset | |
| Bryanston | Bryanston | The Crown | North Dorset | |
| Buckhorn Weston | Buckhorn Weston | North Dorset | ||
| Buckland Newton | Buckland Newton, Dogbury Hillfort, Duntish | Dorset Hillforts, Pulham, Lyons Gate | West Dorset | |
| Burleston | Weatherbury | Athelhampton, Pallington | West Dorset | |
| Burstock | Lewesdon | West Dorset | ||
| Burton Bradstock | Burton Bradstock | Cogden Beach, West Bay | West Dorset | |
| Cann | Guy's Marsh | St Edward's Way, Melbury Abbas, Shaftesbury | North Dorset | |
| Castleton | Sherborne Castle, Lenthay | Holway, Bradford Abbas | West Dorset | |
| Catherston Leweston | Wootton Fitzpaine, Charmouth | West Dorset | ||
| Cattistock | Cattistock | Evershot, Sydling St Nicholas, Dorset Hillforts, Holywell | West Dorset | |
| Caundle Marsh | Bishops Caundle | West Dorset | ||
| Cerne Abbas | Cerne Abbas, Bramble Bottom | West Dorset | ||
| Chalbury | Chalbury, Stanbridge | East Dorset | ||
| Chaldon Herring | Lulworth to Osmington, Durdle Door, Winfrith Newburgh | Purbecks | ||
| Charlton Marshall | Charlton Marshall | St Edward's Way, Anderson | North Dorset | |
| Charminster | Charlton Down | Poundbury, Stratton, Fordington | West Dorset | |
| Charmouth | Charmouth | Wootton Fitzpaine | West Dorset | |
| Chedington | South Perrott | West Dorset | ||
| Cheselbourne | Cheselbourne | Lyscombe Bottom | West Dorset | |
| Chetnole | Chetnole | Up Sydling. Stratton | West Dorset | |
| Chettle | Farnham, Tarrant Gunville | North Dorset | ||
| Chickerell | Higher Moor Farm | West Dorset | ||
| Chideock | Golden Cap | Eype, Symondsbury | West Dorset | |
| Chilcombe | Chilcombe | Dorset Hillforts | West Dorset | |
| Child Okeford | Hambledon, Hod, Child Okeford | St Edward's Way, Wessex Ridgeway, Fontmell Parva | North Dorset | |
| Chilfrome | Cattistock, Maiden Newton | West Dorset | ||
| Church Knowle | Church Knowle, Furzebrook | Swyre, Corfe | Purbecks | |
| Clifton Maybank | Ryme Intrinseca | Yetminster | West Dorset | |
| Colehill | Wimborne | East Dorset | ||
| Compton Abbas | Compton Abbas | Compton Abbas Airfield, St Edward's Way | North Dorset | |
| Compton Valence | Compton Valence | Wynford Eagle | West Dorset | |
| Coombe Keynes | Coombe Keynes | Lulworth Estate | Purbecks | |
| Corfe Castle | Corfe Castle, Corfe Castle and Kingston, Rempstone, Wytch, Woolgarston, Chapman's Pool, | St Aldhelms Head, Swyre, Worth Matravers, Langton Matravers | Purbecks | |
| Corfe Mullen | Corfe Mullen, Upton Heath | East Dorset | ||
| Corscombe | Corscombe, Brackett’s Coppice | South Perrott, West and East Chelborough, | West Dorset | |
| Cranborne | Cranborne, Cranborne Castle | Pentridge, Monmouth, Dorset Hillforts, Bokerley Ditch, Crendell | East Dorset | |
| Crossways | Woodsford, Tadnoll | West Knighton | West Dorset | |
| Dewlish | Dewlish | Cheselbourne | West Dorset | |
| Dorchester | Poundbury, Fordington, Max Gate | West Dorset | ||
| Durweston | Travellers Rest | Wessex Ridgeway, Bryanston, North Dorset Trailway | North Dorset | |
| East Chelborough | West Chelborough, | West Dorset | ||
| East Holme | Stoborough, East Holme | Purbecks | ||
| East Lulworth | Swyre, Lulworth Estate | Purbecks | ||
| East Orchard | West Orchard, St Edward's | North Dorset | ||
| East Stoke | East Holme, Holmebridge | Wool | Purbecks | |
| East Stour | East Stour | Madjeston | North Dorset | |
| Edmondsham | Cranborne, Monmouth | East Dorset | ||
| Evershot | Evershot, Melbury Sampford, Bubb Hill, Holywell | West Chelborough | West Dorset | |
| Farnham | Farnham | Win Green | North Dorset | |
| Ferndown | Dudsbury | Ferndown | East Dorset | |
| Fifehead Magdalen | West Stour, Marnhull Bike Ride | North Dorset | ||
| Fifehead Neville | Fifehead Neville | North Dorset | ||
| Fleet | Langton Herring | West Dorset | ||
| Folke | Folke | Sherborne, North Wootton | West Dorset | |
| Fontmell Magna | Fontmell Magna | Fontmell Down, Compton Abbas Airfield, St Edward's Way | North Dorset | |
| Frampton | Tibbs Hollow, | Compton Valence, Muckleford | West Dorset | |
| Frome St Quintin | Frome St Quintin | Evershot, Up Sydling, Batcombe, Melbury Sampford, Holywell | West Dorset | |
| Frome Vauchurch | Maiden Newton | West Dorset | ||
| Gillingham | Gillingham, Milton on Stour, Madjeston, Wyke | North Dorset | ||
| Glanvilles Wootton | Glanvilles Wootton | Pulham, Folke | North Dorset | |
| Goathill | Goathill | West Dorset | ||
| Godmanstone | Stratton | West Dorset | ||
| Gussage All Saints | Gussage Down, Wimborne St Giles, Stanbridge | East Dorset | ||
| Gussage St. Michael | Gussage Down | Wimborne St Giles, Long Crichel, Sixpenny Handley | East Dorset | |
| Halstock | Halstock | West Chelborough, Brackett’s Coppice | West Dorset | |
| Hammoon | Child Okeford, North Dorset Trailway | North Dorset | ||
| Hanford | Wessex Ridgeway, Hod | North Dorset | ||
| Haydon | Sherborne Castles | Folke | West Dorset | |
| Hazelbury Bryan | Hazelbury Bryan | King's Stag | North Dorset | |
| Hermitage | Hermitage | Lyon's Gaye, Up Cerne, Glanvilles Wootton | West Dorset | |
| Hilfield | Hilfield | Lyons Gate, Up Cerne, Hermitage | West Dorset | |
| Hilton | Ansty, Hilton | Milton Abbas, Ansty, Rawlsbury | North Dorset | |
| Hinton | Chalbury | East Dorset | ||
| Hinton St Mary | Hinton St Mary | The Swan, King's Mill | North Dorset | |
| Holnest | Holnest | Glanvilles Wootton, Folke, Hermitage | West Dorset | |
| Holt | Ferndown | East Dorset | ||
| Holwell | Folke, Bishop's Caundle, Kings Stag | West Dorset | ||
| Hooke | Hooke | Hooke Park, Kingcombe | West Dorset | |
| Horton | Horton | Chalbury, Horton Common, Stanbridge | East Dorset | |
| Hurn | Hurn Forest | Throop | East Dorset | |
| Ibberton | Ibberton | Wessex Ridgeway, Bulbarrow | North Dorset | |
| Iwerne Courtney or Shroton | Hambledon, Hod, St Edwards Way, Wessex Ridgeway, Fontmell Parva | North Dorset | ||
| Iwerne Minster | Iwerne Minster, Stubhampton Bottom | Wessex Ridgeway | North Dorset | |
| Iwerne Stepleton | Wessex Ridgeway | North Dorset | ||
| Kimmeridge | Kimmeridge, Blackmanston | Swyre | Purbecks | |
| Kingston Russell | Little Bredy, St Luke's, South Dorset Ridgeway | West Dorset | ||
| Kington Magna | Kington Magna | Buckhorn Weston | North Dorset | |
| Langton Herring | Langton Herring | Rodden | West Dorset | |
| Langton Long Blandford | Pimperne, Tarrant Keyneston | North Dorset | ||
| Langton Matravers | Langton Matravers | Worth Matravers, Durlston, Swanage | Purbecks | |
| Leigh | Leigh | Hermitage, Batcombe | West Dorset | |
| Leweston | Sherborne | West Dorset | ||
| Lillington | Sherborne, Knighton, Batcombe | West Dorset | ||
| Little Bredy | Little Bredy | Valley of the Stones | West Dorset | |
| Litton Cheney | West Compton, Chilcombe, Dorset Hillforts | West Dorset | ||
| Loders | Loders | Shipton Gorge | West Dorset | |
| Long Bredy | Long Bredy | Little Bredy, St Luke's | West Dorset | |
| Longburton | North Wootton, Folke, Sherborne | West Dorset | ||
| Lydlinch | Lydlinch, Thornhill | A3030, Fifehead Neville, Kings Stag | North Dorset | |
| Lyme Regis | Lyme Regis, Cannington | Charmouth | West Dorset | |
| Lytchett Matravers | St Peter's Finger, Morden, Sturminster Marshall | Purbecks | ||
| Lytchett Minster and Upton | St Peter's Finger | Upton Heath, Holton Heath | Purbecks | |
| Maiden Newton | Maiden Newton | Up Sydling | West Dorset | |
| Manston | Fontmell Parva | Hinton St Mary, Child Okeford, West Orchard | North Dorset | |
| Mapperton | North Poorton, Hooke, Parnham, Hooke Park | West Dorset | ||
| Mappowder | Dorsetshire Gap | North Dorset | ||
| Margaret Marsh | Marnhull Bike Ride | North Dorset | ||
| Marnhull | Marnhull, Marnhull bike, King's Mill | Hinton St Mary, The Swan | North Dorset | |
| Marshwood | Lambert's, Shave Cross, Fishpond Bottom | Bettiscombe, Birdsmoorgate | West Dorset | |
| Melbury Abbas | Melbury Abbas | Fontmell Down, Compton Abbas Airfield, St Edward's Way | North Dorset | |
| Melbury Bubb | Chetnole, Batcombe, Bubb Hill, Redford | West Dorset | ||
| Melbury Osmond | Chetnole | West Dorset | ||
| Melbury Sampford | Melbury Sampford, Chetnole, Bubb Hill | West Dorset | ||
| Melcombe Horsey | Melcombe Bingham | Dorsetshire Gap, Wessex Ridgeway, Lyscombe Bottom, Rawlsbury | West Dorset | |
| Milborne St Andrew | Weatherby, Affpuddle | North Dorset | ||
| Milton Abbas | Milton Abbas, Milton Abbas & Gollows Corner | Winterborne Whitechurch | North Dorset | |
| Minterne Magna | Lyons Gate | Cerne Abbas, Dogbury, Dorset Hillforts, Up Cerne, Lyons Gate | West Dorset | |
| Moor Crichel | Long Crichel, Launceston Down | Moor Crichel, Gussage Down, Tarrant Monkton, Stanbridge | East Dorset | |
| Morden | Morden | World's End, Sturminster Marshall, Bloxworth | Purbecks | |
| Moreton | Lawrence of Arabia, Tadnoll | Purbecks | ||
| Mosterton | South Perrott | West Dorset | ||
| Motcombe | Motcombe | Gillingham | North Dorset | |
| Nether Cerne | Nether Cerne | West Dorset | ||
| Nether Compton | Nether Compton | West Dorset | ||
| Netherbury | Netherbury | Salwayash, Waytown | West Dorset | |
| North Poorton | North Poorton | Dorset Hillforts, Hooke Park | West Dorset | |
| North Wootton | North Wootton | Folke, Longburton | West Dorset | |
| Oborne | Sherborne Castles | West Dorset | ||
| Okeford Fitzpaine | Okeford Fitzpaine | Wessex Ridgeway, The Stickler, Ibberton, | North Dorset | |
| Osmington | Osmington, Smugglers to Lulworth | Poxwell | West Dorset | |
| Over Compton | Nether Compton | West Dorset | ||
| Owermoigne | Ringstead, Poxwell | Warmwell, Smugglers to Lulworth | West Dorset | |
| Pamphill | Pamphill, Kingston Lacy, Wimborne | Badbury Rings, Wild Swimming, Stanbridge | East Dorset | |
| Piddlehinton | Piddlehinton | Cheselbourne, Charlton Down | West Dorset | |
| Piddletrenthide | Lyscombe Bottom, Piddletrenthide | Plush, Piddlehinton, Cheselbourne, Wessex Ridgeway, Dorsetshire Gap | West Dorset | |
| Pilsdon | Pilsdon Pen | Bettiscombe, Dorset Hillforts, Shave Cross | West Dorset | |
| Pimperne | The Anvil, The Farquharson | North Dorset Trailway | North Dorset | |
| Poole, Bournemouth & Christchurch | Canford Heath, Hengistbury Head, Christchurch, Burton | N/A | ||
| Portesham | Portesham, Rodden, Friar Waddon | Little Bredy | West Dorset | |
| Portland | Isle of Portland, Fortuneswell | Weymouth | ||
| Powerstock | Powerstock | Powerstock Forest, West Compton, Eggardon | West Dorset | |
| Poxwell | Osmington, Smugglers to Lulworth, Warmwell, Poxwell | West Dorset | ||
| Poyntington | Sandford Orcas, Holway | West Dorset | ||
| Puddletown | Puddletown, Puddletown Forest | Stinsford, Yellowham Woods, Cheselbourne, Woodsford, Athelhampton, Puddletown Forest Roman Road | West Dorset | |
| Pulham | Pulham | Kings Stag | North Dorset | |
| Puncknowle | Puncknowle, St Luke's, West Bexington | Abbotsbury | West Dorset | |
| Purse Caundle | Purse Caundle, Stourton Caundle, Folke | West Dorset | ||
| Rampisham | Evershot | West Dorset | ||
| Ryme Intrinseca | Stoford, Yetminster | West Dorset | ||
| Sandford Orcas | Sandford Orcas, Holway | Spooky Places | West Dorset | |
| Seaborough | Drimpton | West Dorset | ||
| Shaftesbury | Shaftesbury | St Edward's Way | North Dorset | |
| Shapwick | Badbury Shapwick, Badbury Rings bike | Kingston Lacy | East Dorset | |
| Sherborne | Sherborne Castle, Longburton, Lenthay | West Dorset | ||
| Shillingstone | The Stickler | Wessex Ridgeway, North Dorset Trailway, Child Okeford | North Dorset | |
| Shipton Gorge | Shipton Gorge | Dorset Hillforts, Burton Bradstock, Cogden Beach, Chilcombe | West Dorset | |
| Silton | Silton | North Dorset | ||
| Sixpenny Handley and Pentridge | Bokerley, Mistleberry, Sixpenny Handley, Pentridge | Dorset Hillforts | East Dorset | |
| South Perrott | South Perrott | West Dorset | ||
| Spetisbury | Spetisbury | Coombs Ditch | North Dorset | |
| St. Leonards and St. Ives | West Moors | East Dorset | ||
| Stalbridge | Stalbridge | Marnhull bike ride, Thornhill | North Dorset | |
| Stanton St Gabriel | Stanton St Gabriel | Golden Cap, St Wite | West Dorset | |
| Steeple with Tyneham | Tyneham, Kimmeridge, Steeple | Church Knowle, Blue Pool, Swyre, Stoborough, Blackmanston | Purbecks | |
| Stinsford | Stinsford, Yellowham, Puddletown Forest Roman Road | Puddletown Forest, Fordington | West Dorset | |
| Stockwood | Chetnole | West Dorset | ||
| Stoke Abbott | Netherbury, Shave Cross | West Dorset | ||
| Stoke Wake | Rawlsbury | Bulbarrow, Wessex Ridgeway | North Dorset | |
| Stour Provost | Stour Row | Marnhull Bike Ride | North Dorset | |
| Stourpaine | Wessex Ridgeway, North Dorset Trailway, The Stickler, Hod | North Dorset | ||
| Stourton Caundle | Stourton Caundle, Purse Caundle, Folke bike | North Dorset | ||
| Stratton | Forcey's Tower | Poundbury | West Dorset | |
| Studland | Studland, Old Harry, Rempstone | Swanage | Purbecks | |
| Sturminster Marshall | Sturminster Marshall & Charborough, Sturminster Marshall | World's End | East Dorset | |
| Sturminster Newton | The Bull, The Swan, Rolls Mill | North Dorset Trailway, Wild Swimming, Okeford Fitzpaine, Fifehead Neville, Thornhill | North Dorset | |
| Sutton Waldron | Iwerne Minster, St Edward's Way, Stubhampton Bottom | North Dorset | ||
| Swanage | Swanage, Durlston | Purbecks | ||
| Swyre | Cogden Beach, Puncknowle | West Dorset | ||
| Sydling St Nicholas | Sydling St Nicholas, Up Sydling | Up Cerne, Stratton | West Dorset | |
| Symondsbury` | Symondsbury, Eype, Colmer's Hill, Broadoak & Denhay | Eype, Allington | West Dorset | |
| Tarrant Crawford | Spetisbury, Shapwick | North Dorset | ||
| Tarrant Gunville | Tarrant Gunville | Wessex Ridgeway, Chettle, Pimperne, Tarrant Valley | North Dorset | |
| Tarrant Hinton | Tarrant Hinton | Tarrant Gunville, Pimperne, Tarrant Valley, Launceston Down | North Dorset | |
| Tarrant Keyneston | Tarrant Keyneston | Tarrant Valley | North Dorset | |
| Tarrant Launceston | Tarrant Monkton, Tarrant Hinton, Tarrant Valley, Launceston Down | North Dorset | ||
| Tarrant Monkton | Tarrant Monkton, Tarrant Valley 10 | Tarrant Hinton, The Farquharson, Tarrant Valley | North Dorset | |
| Tarrant Rawston | Buzbury | Shapwick, Tarrant Valley | North Dorset | |
| Tarrant Rushton | Tarrant Monkton, Badbury Rings, Tarrant Valley | North Dorset | ||
| Thorncombe | Forde Abbey, Thorncombe, Laymore, Birdsmoorgate | West Dorset | ||
| Thornford | Bradford Abbas | Yetminster | West Dorset | |
| Throop | Throop, Holdenhurst | East Dorset | ||
| Tincleton | Pallington, Athelhampton | West Dorset | ||
| Todber | Marnhull Bike Ride | North Dorset | ||
| Toller Fratrum | Wynford Eagle | West Dorset | ||
| Toller Porcorum | Toller Porcorum, Kingcombe, Powerstock Forest | West Compton | West Dorset | |
| Tolpuddle | Weatherby | Athelhampton, Pallington, Affpuddle | West Dorset | |
| Trent | Trent, Trent barrow | Dorset Spooky Places, Nether Compton | West Dorset | |
| Turnworth | Turnworth | Wessex Ridgeway, St Edward's Way | North Dorset | |
| Up Cerne | Cerne Abbas, Up Cerne | West Dorset | ||
| Verwood | Monmouth, Horton Common | West Moors | East Dorset | |
| Wareham St. Martin | The Cordite Way, Coldharbour, Holton Heath | Wareham Forest, St Edward's Way | Purbecks | |
| Wareham Town | Wareham, St Edward's Way | Coldharbour | Purbecks | |
| Warmwell | Warmwell | West Knighton | West Dorset | |
| West Chelborough | West Chelborough | West Dorset | ||
| West Compton | West Compton, Wynford Eagle | West Dorset | ||
| West Knighton | West Knighton | Woodsford, Broadmayne | West Dorset | |
| West Lulworth | Lulworth Cove, Lulworth to Osmington, Durdle Door | Coombe Keynes | Purbecks | |
| West Moors | West Moors | East Dorset | ||
| West Orchard | West Orchard | North Dorset | ||
| West Parley | East Dorset | |||
| West Stafford | West Stafford | West Knighton, Max Gate | West Dorset | |
| West Stour | Stour Row, Marnhull Bike Ride | North Dorset | ||
| Weymouth | Bowleaze Cove, Upwey, Lodmoor | Higher Moor Farm | Weymouth | |
| Whitcombe | West Stafford, West Knighton | West Dorset | ||
| Whitechurch Canonicorum | Morcombelake, Symmondsbury, St Wite | Lambert's Castle, Fishpond Bottom, Broadoak & Denhay | West Dorset | |
| Wimborne Minster | Stanbridge | Lady Wimborne's Bridge, Wimborne | East Dorset | |
| Wimborne St Giles | Knowlton | Pentridge, Cranborne, Monmouth, Woodlands | East Dorset | |
| Winfrith Newburgh | Winfrith Newburgh, Winfrith | Coombe Keynes | Purbecks | |
| Winterborne Came | West Stafford, Bincombe, Max Gate | West Dorset | ||
| Winterborne Clenston | Winterborne Stickland | North Dorset | ||
| Winterborne Herringston | Batcombe | West Dorset | ||
| Winterborne Houghton | Ibberton, Winterborne Stickland | North Dorset | ||
| Winterborne Kingston | Winterborne Kingston | St Edward's Way, Anderson | North Dorset | |
| Winterborne Monkton | Maiden Castle | West Dorset | ||
| Winterborne St Martin | Dorset Hillforts, Portesham, Maiden Castle, Upwey | West Dorset | ||
| Winterborne Stickland | Winterborne Stickland | St Edward's Way | North Dorset | |
| Winterborne Whitechurch | Winterborne Whitechurch | Winterborne Kingston | North Dorset | |
| Winterborne Zelston | The World's End | Coombs Ditch | North Dorset | |
| Winterbourne Abbas | Winterbourne Abbas | West Dorset | ||
| Winterbourne Steepleton | Winterbourne Abbas. Valley of the Stones, Portesham | West Dorset | ||
| Witchampton | Moor Crichel, Badbury Rings | East Dorset | ||
| Woodlands | Woodlands | Horton, Horton Common, Stanbridge | East Dorset | |
| Woodsford | Woodsford | West Dorset | ||
| Wool | Wool | Winfrith | Purbecks | |
| Woolland | Bulbarrow | Wessex Ridgeway, Rawlsbury | North Dorset | |
| Wootton Fitzpaine | Wootton Fitzpaine, Monkton Wyld | Fishpond Bottom | West Dorset | |
| Worth Matravers | St Aldhelm's Head, Dancing ledge | Langton Herring | Purbecks | |
| Wraxall | Cattistock | West Dorset | ||
| Wynford Eagle | Wynford Eagle | Toller Porcorum | West Dorset | |
| Yetminster | Yetminster | Knighton | West Dorset |
Water World
In the heart of Dorset is the Country town of Dorchester. With its two castles (the Military Keep and the ancient hillfort of Maiden Castle), the town sits on the banks of the River Frome in ‘Water World’.
Dominated by the flood plains of the River Piddle, Frome and Stour, and known to Thomas Hardy as The Vale of the Great Dairies, small hamlets mix with abandoned settlements, ruined churches, thatched castles, quarries and large country estates. Military activity rubs shoulders with war heroes and literary figures while the trees of Wareham Forest hide a number of ancient hillforts. The devil has his own stone while another hill fort hides an Obelisk. Martyrs changed the way we work, planning their actions under a giant tree, while the lands are bordered to the north by the medieval junction of the Dorsetshire Gap.
The higher valleys create horseshoe hills, the flowing streams combining into the low dairy fields where they meet one of only two railways in the county. The Stour provided smugglers, both from the aristocracy and the local villages, with easy access to the wider countryside while the estates owned by MPs, businessmen (or women) and celebrities tuck themselves into the valleys surrounded by elaborate garden designs. The characters (past or present), leaving their legacy in the landscape we walk through today.
Dinosaur Land
What Dorset is most famous for – The Jurassic Coast! Discover the dinosaur footprints fossilised into rock while they stood at a drinking hole. Unearth animals that have turned to stone and not seen the light of day for millions of years. Frequent the popular spots with ice-creams and arcades or find isolated bays the beaches cocooned by the folding rock. Swim in a swimming pool that has associations with James Bond or explore rock pools filled with starfish. Climb to the peak of the highest point on the south coast or walk the Cobb out into Lyme Bay.
Visit sites used in many a movie as well as television show or walk under the arches of a Harry Potter-esque Viaduct. Circle the island of rock that is sinking into the sea, populated with a prison and a famous lighthouse. Discover one of Dorset’s natural wonders, the 17 mile Chesil Beach, with tales of ferocious storms and bouncing bombs, an abandoned village and St. Catherine’s Chapel, the patron saint of single ladies, still guiding and protecting those at sea from up high. Visit the home of another saint who has become engrained into Dorset’s own flag as well as Chapman’s Pool, watched over by the haunting St Aldhelm’s Chapel.
Future World
The growing towns of Bournemouth and Poole are the most developed areas of the county, all due to its own geography. The harbour of Poole was crucial throughout history and the little island of Brownsea sits at it entrance, populated with red squirrels and decorated with pottery of an industry long gone.
The peninsula of Hengistbury Head protects Christchurch Harbour curving into the golden beaches, sandy cliffs and towering buildings sitting on the shoreline of Bournemouth. Wonder the surrounding heathlands, carved by Roman roads and railways, now filled will all of Dorset’s reptiles!
Pirate Land
The world of smuggling and piracy was a busy one along the Dorset coast. Find the caves where they stored the loot and the footpaths that they used to escape. Hear stories of tragedy and just plain bad luck all along the coastline, the names of survivors, victims and heroes sometimes attaching their names to the coastal features for eternity. Under the waves are wrecks galore, sleeping peacefully in their watery graves.
Inland is Corfe, one of Dorset’s most famous castles, while nearby is Lulworth on the edge of the military ranges. Deep in the woodland is a stone circle, the estate in which it sits a meeting place for Churchill and Eisenhower during the war. The sandy shore of Studland attracts many visitors but also hides another devils stone and the little Bramble Bay. Explore the low ground of a Nature Reserve, dented by German bombs, or climb high to a secret peak with views across the Southern coast.
The Spiritual Realm
Cranborne Chase was a hunting ground, designated and protected by William the Conqueror. This protection has meant little has changed. The hills were once covered in forest but slopes and valleys are now exposed and rich with ancient earthworks. The mysterious Dorset Cursus cuts through the landscape, a monument that puts Stonehenge to shame. Bronze Age burial mounds, that once shone in the sunshine and glowed in the moonlight, scatter the slopes.
Remains of Iron Age settlement and the Roman Road of Ackling Dike are some of the best preserved in the county and still surprisingly prominent. The land was under the ownership of the Pitt-Rivers family, their estate to the north. The surrounding woodlands filled with not only the odd hillfort but also avenues of trees that were part of their garden design, now merging back into the forest.
Uncover the tales of the residents looting a church and hiding the treasure, only for it to still require collecting! Find an estate that claims to have associations with a vampire, a tree that claims to have healing powers, another avenue of trees frequently found on Instagram and military action, from the Second World War, which still scars the landscape.
The Old Lands
The patchwork fields of the Blackmore Vale are dominated by the small streams of the upper Stour before the river cuts though the Dorset Downs into Water World. The river runs alongside the old Somerset and Dorset railway, now an all accessible trailway.
The little streams are crossed by packhorse bridges, stone steps or fords providing the old bloodline between settlements. The hills of Okeford and Bullbarrow edge its southern corner with ancient earthworks on its slopes and the oldest tree in the county on its peak. Bulbarrow Hill even featuring is a chart toping song. Little settlements have grown out of the forest with many of the trees still lining the roads, while the towering hill forts of Hambledon and Hod survey from above.
Further Hillforts of Rawlsbury, Dungeon and Dogbury, rise high above the hedge lined fields, topped with trees or exposing their wrinkly ramparts. Mills line the river, either as a museum, ruins or private homes. The legend of Lazy Lawrence haunts the orchards connected to each other by old medieval trackways that have faded back into the landscape.
The Wild Lands
Still buried in pockets of thick woodland, the wild lands are full of narrow lanes and Holloways, hidden tracks that have sunken into the ground. The hillforts of Pilsdon Pen, Coney’s Castle, Lambert’s Castle, Eggardon Hill and the highest peak in Dorset, Lewesdon Hill, circle the untamed landscape.
Amongst the small little farmsteads, many still warmed by their thatched roofs and cheese lofts, are the ruined castles of Holditch, Marshwood and West and East Chelborough. The identifiable Colmer’s Hill sits near the coastline to the south while the slopes, enjoying the view, are decorated with many a vineyard.
The peaceful and protected vale has attracted many a celebrity from men behaving badly to sustainably and, one of the most infamous characters of all, Martha Brown.
…and all this is just scratching the surface!