Wander through a landscape where the villages have been deserted, woods exploited and the ground quarried. A landscape, full of forest, heath, floodplains and a lonely standing stone, which was once bustling with life from the medieval period, through both World Wars and up to modern day. The Norman knights, American soldiers and extraction machinery have … Continue reading West Knighton
Wander through the landscape that has been sliced up and sewn back together. Explore some of the most historic sites of the county, with hilltops marked with numerous barrows, earthworks and Iron Age Hillforts. Discover the hidden stone circle of the Nine Stones, the mystical sight being one of only four in Dorset. Climb up … Continue reading Winterbourne Abbas and the Nine Stones
Cranborne, a small village, rich in history including naughty monks, revengeful princesses, ruined castles, smugglers and highwaymen. The landscape is filled with wild wood, spiritual burial mounds, Iron Age settlement, and Neolithic mystery, all of which is the playground for a plethora of wildlife. It has all been preserved thanks to the first conservationist - … Continue reading Cranborne
Once greeted by elegant herons, escape into the landscape of the little dairies. Cross patchwork fields, with views to hill forts and hunting grounds, following the footsteps of Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Pass an elegant Elizabethan Manor House that neighbours agricultural barns, cross a little stream on its way to the mighty River Stour and … Continue reading Hinton St Mary
Discover the secret valley of the Plush Stream. Down the back lanes of the back lanes, explore the landscape littered with ancient earthworks, medieval trackways and a mysterious chimney coming out of the ground. Climb up high for views across the heart of the county, the scenes enjoyed by a modest architect who influenced a … Continue reading Plush
After tracing the old route of the Bridport branch railway line to the village train station, clamber up the chalk hills using the old medieval route, its path passing the ruins of an old Blacksmith’s workshop. Wander between the fields and patches of woodland in a landscape still scarred by the Romans, their road skimming … Continue reading Maiden Newton
A trek you can time with the trains! Starting in the little village of Buckhorn Weston, climb the earthwork covered slopes to the top of the hill with wide open views across the Blackmore Vale. Walk through a landscape of champions as you pass the original National Stud to Tunnel Head. The old race tracks … Continue reading Buckhorn Weston
From the Victorian poet Thomas Hardy’s Cottage, deep in Thorncombe Wood, make your way through the trees to the A35 as it slices its way through the landscape. Enter, if you dare, the woods of Yellowham, home of the Woodwoses (Dorset’s very own Bigfoot). Pass Troy Town, the home of a medieval maze, and down … Continue reading Waterston and Yellowham Woods
