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
Travel through the layered landscape of Shaftesbury. Begin high on its chalk peak, and descend the iconic Gold Hill to the mills, manors and woodland that once sustained the great abbey founded by King Alfred. Follow forgotten lanes back up to the heights to circle the earthworks of the Iron Age hillfort that later rose … Continue reading Shaftesbury
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
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
Dorset’s roads, from medieval trackways to 18th-century turnpikes, stretched across open heaths, chalk downs, and hidden valleys. Travellers moving between London, Dorchester, and the West Country risked robbery, carrying cash, jewels, or goods. Highwaymen, alone or in gangs, exploited the land, using fast horses, pistols, and hidden refuges, while sparse policing left victims vulnerable. Some … Continue reading Dorset Highwaymen
From the River Stour, enter the landscape of its tributaries. Climb to Sturminster Castle, a ruin that evolved from an Iron Age hillfort into a medieval manor house. Follow old drove roads with wide views across the Blackmore Vale to Duncliffe, before descending to the River Divelish, passing areas of modern development. Trace the Divelish … Continue reading Rolls Mill
Before they were roads, they were only paths. Across Dorset, routes emerged slowly, worn into the land by centuries of passage, shifting with weather and season, never entirely fixed. Some followed high ground, others slipped into holloways or vanished altogether, leaving travellers to trust instinct as much as direction. Then came the Turnpikes. Order was imposed … Continue reading Dorset Turnpikes
In March, Women's History Month invites us to rediscover the hidden stories of women in Dorset, from Iron Age matrilineal societies to modern-day leaders. Their legacies shape our world, urging us to lead the change. Women’s History Month For much of living memory, women’s lives in England were shaped by laws and customs that rendered … Continue reading Women in Dorset
