From a landscape carved by the river, follow lakes and lanes into a spiritual environment. Weave around modern housing, the pylons that mark the edge of Bournemouth’s urban sprawl, and between hidden Bronze Age burial mounds. Skim the ghost of a faded country manor, once home to a single family, now an estate of hundreds. … Continue reading Dudsbury
Adventures
West Moors
Wander the valley of the Moors River as it cuts through ancient heathland between the New Forest and Cranborne Chase. Follow the light railway out of Moors Valley Country Park, filled with a variety of tracks and forest trails. Cross the river to enter a landscape once isolated and lost in time as the lonely … Continue reading West Moors
Holnest
Explore the ancient hunting grounds of The White Hart and discover the isolated church of Holnest, once overshadowed by a vast mausoleum. Enter the softly tamed landscape, following old drove roads and skimming lakes and farms, bordered by towering oak trees. Cross the River Cam, where the legend of a doomed horse and cart still … Continue reading Holnest
Burton
From Christchurch’s Saxon walls, follow the River Avon beneath railway bridges and past ancient mills. Cross the water using the historic sluice gates at Knapp Mill, entering the vast, open landscape of Winkton Common. Loop around the village of Burton, passing thatched cottages straight out of fairytales, and once home to the author of Goldilocks … Continue reading Burton
Broadmayne
Set in a landscape once dominated by a Neolithic stone circle, explore the village of Broadmayne. Head out to West Knighton, where the fields were once filled with troops preparing for the Second World War. Follow ancient trackways down to Little Mayne, where the stone circle once stood, its stones now scattered and hidden within … Continue reading Broadmayne
Hilfield
From one of the most prominent ridges in the county, visible from the Purbecks to Glastonbury Tor, explore a mystical landscape. Weave through the trees that crown the summit before dropping into the Blackmore Vale and the Friary of St Francis. Wander woodland once home to a hermit and follow the River Wriggle to Hilfield, … Continue reading Hilfield
Crendell
Weave between ancient woodland and deep clay pits in a landscape once shaped by industry. Follow the Dorset border with Hampshire, circling the little hamlet of Crendell beneath towering oaks that have given places their names. Trace old drove roads past early estates that once dominated the divide between the medieval hunting grounds of the … Continue reading Crendell
Birdsmoorgate
From deep within Dorset’s valleys, brush the border with Devon. Skim past Sadborow Estate, its former owners once painted by Gainsborough, separated then reunited in Dorchester. Weave through woodland, cross gentle streams, and climb up into Marshwood, where views stretch across the vale to the distant sea. Among the hilltops of Pilsdon Pen and Lambert’s … Continue reading Birdsmoorgate
