Terrain - Sandy and stony tracks. Can get very muddy and boggy if wet. Map – OL 15 Purbeck and South Dorset Start – There are a few car parks along Sugar Hill. Gore Heath also has its own car park. There are also a number of pull-ins scattered around the forest. Refreshments –The Silent … Continue reading Wareham Forest bike ride
Eight villages line the valley, all gaining their name from the river. Once the location of an abbey, a monastery and the existence of a surviving medieval pack horse bridge, it suggests activity and life has been here for centuries. Going back even earlier in time, ancient earthworks sit abreast the hill tops and Roman … Continue reading The Tarrant Valley
Travelling through Thomas's Hardy's Vale of the Little Dairies Distance: 16 miles/23km - shorter or longer routes optional (see map)Time: 3 hoursTotal climb: 400ftMax height: 300ftMin height: 160ftTerrain: Road.Exertion: Easy.Start: At The Crown Inn in Marnhull (DT10 1LH).Map: OS Explorer 129 Yeovil and Sherborne.How to get there: From Sturminster Newton, travel north on the B3092. … Continue reading The Crown Inn, Marnhull Bike Ride
This second part of the Wessex Ridgeway bike ride begins high on Okeford Hill with views stretching across both south and north Dorset. Travel along the ridge of Ibberton and Bulbarrow to reach the Iron Age Hillfort of Rawlsbury Camp. Cycle downhill into the first valley to rise again at the ancient junction of Dorsetshire … Continue reading The Wessex Ridgeway, part two. Okeford Hill to Alton Pancras.
The North Dorset Trailway follows the route of the former Somerset & Dorset railway through the Blackmore Vale, linking Sturminster Newton with Blandford (and on to Spetisbury). Today, the railway has gone, but the route remains as an easy way to explore the countryside, villages and historic landscapes of North Dorset. The North Dorset Trailway … Continue reading The North Dorset Trailway
Starting from Chesil Beach, with stunning views from Portland to South Devon, climb up to the historic St Catherine’s Chapel, inspired by the legend of St Catherine of Alexandria. Along the way, follow the famous geological marvel of Chesil Beach as it continues to its subtropical gardens and swannary, mixed with dragons teeth left over … Continue reading St Catherine’s Chapel, Abbotsbury
Distance: 1.5 miles/2.5km (once at the top of the hill, the route can be as long or as short as you like).Time: 1 hourTotal climb: 350ftMax height: 600ftMin height: 260ftTerrain: Track, path, road and field.Exertion: Medium.Start: Lay-by north of Child Okeford.Map: OS Explorer 118 Shaftesbury and Cranborne ChaseHow to get there: From the A357 Blandford … Continue reading Hambledon Hill
Starting the Wessex Ridgeway in Dorset at Ashmore, the highest village in the county, make your way through woodland and down into the Tarrant Valley. Pass an ancient hidden deer park and use historic smuggling routes that linked the coast to town via Cranborne Chase. Climb the mighty Iron Age hillfort of Hambledon Hill, to … Continue reading Bike ride. The Wessex Ridgeway, part one. Ashmore to Okeford Hill.
