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
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 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
From the expanding settlement of Sturminster Marshall, explore its church, timber-framed cottages, pub, and lost village remains, all set along the banks of the River Stour. Follow the route of the medieval road towards Blandford, crossing the old packhorse bridge before joining the route of the former Somerset and Dorset Railway. Cross the old turnpike … Continue reading Sturminster Marshall
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
From deep within the roots of the ancient Selwood Forest, wander a landscape that shaped Iron Age tribes, settling Saxons, and the counties of Wessex. Drop down into the valley of the River Stour, joining its short course through Wiltshire to the possible site of Egbert’s Stone, marking the point where three counties meet. Follow … Continue reading Bourton
From Thomas Hardy’s village of Marlott, wander the old tracks once trodden by Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Pass her childhood cottage and drift into open fields, past a weathered stone quarry and an avenue of trees near the site of a Roman temple. Follow the sunken path of Leigh Lane as it drops into the … Continue reading King’s Mill
