Compton Abbas Airfield

Watch the planes take off from Compton Abbas Airfield as you stroll down the county lane to Fontmell Down. Walk along the edge of the slopes with views over the hedge lined fields, woodland and church towers of the Blackmore Vale to Hambledon Hill. Venture deep into Fontmell Wood weaving through the trees and down … Continue reading Compton Abbas Airfield

East Holme

A mini adventure into a secret spot on the banks of the River Frome. The long gone Priory of Holme has disappeared, its site faded into history. The Priory church, which sat on the site of a Roman church, the land dedicated over 2000 years ago, has also gone. Instead the Victorian Architect John Hicks … Continue reading East Holme

Stoborough

Explore the landscape caught between quarries and the army. Starting at a fresh green space, bordered by an ancient barrow, cross the railway that rose like a phoenix from the ashes. Clamber into heathlands skimming the military training area, through the wild landscape of Purbeck Nature Reserve. Wander past derelict farms and million pound houses … Continue reading Stoborough

West Knighton

West Knighton. 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 to both World Wars. The Norman knights, American soldiers and extraction machinery have all gone … Continue reading West Knighton

Burton Bradstock

From a golden shingle corner of Chesil Beach, climb up to the peak of Bind Barrow, complete with panoramic views of Lyme Bay. The empty beach and wide blue sea played a crucial role in the D-Day landings, with American troops scaling the cliffs for training and the sea turning black with boats on the … Continue reading Burton Bradstock

Wytch

Off the tourist trail on the Isle of Purbeck, filling the low land between Corfe Castle and Poole Harbour, is Wytch Heath. Follow medieval trails over little stone bridges through a once heavily industrial landscape, its resources tapped since the Bronze Age. Skim the oil refinery, hidden behind thick Corsican pines and hard working nodding donkeys, … Continue reading Wytch

Maiden Newton

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

Buckhorn Weston

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