Wonder along the old drove roads of hidden Dorset. Cross the single track railway as it travels from Yeovil to Weymouth under the shadow of the haunting Bubb Hill. Visit the little St Mary’s Church, with a broken gravestone of a murder victim, before following the country lanes between the oak lined fields. Skim the earthworks of medieval fishponds, which may have belonged to the local conjuror who knocked a pinnacle off Batcombe church, to return using an old road that fades into the woodland and the old pub with its brackets still missing its sign.
Distance: 4miles/6.5km
Time: 2 hours
Ability: Easy.
Max height: 445ft.
Min height: 273ft.
Total climb: 178ft.
Terrain: Tracks, paths, fields and roads.
Start Point: Batcombe. (Postcode: DT2 0NH, Grid Reference: ST608056, What Three Words: tugging.minimums.parading).
Map: OS Explorer 117 Cerne Abbas and Bere Regis
How to get there: From Dorchester, travel north on the A37 for approximately 10 miles. Turn right at the Evershot/Holywell crossroads and then take the next left, crossing over the railway tunnel. Follow the road all the way into Redford to find space for parking on a bend, where a bridleway joins the road.
Dogs: On leads where livestock is present and in accordance with any notices on the walk and The Countryside Code.
Refreshments: None on route but nearby are the Acorn Inn in Evershot, The Chetnole Inn in Chetnole and The Hunters Moon in Middlemarsh
Neighbouring Walks: Chetnole, Leigh, Hermitage, Lyon’s Gate, Batcombe, Bubb Hill and Melbury Sampford.
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