walkr's picture

Corfe - Kingston, Dorset

A great 5.5 mile walk that could be extended or shortened to suit.  

walkr's picture

Cranborne, Dorset

A 14 mile circular walk that takes in a variety of terrain with great views over Sixpenny Handley and Cranbourne.  For those interested, this route follows the Cranbourne Chase Circular 100 cache power trail.

We parked on the road through Cranbourne and walked a few hundred metres to start this route.  Almost immediately, you pass Cranborne Church, built between the 12th and 15th centuries, followed by Cranborne Manor, originally a medieval hunting lodge founded by Henry VIII and extended by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury between 1607 and 1611.

walkr's picture

Lulworth Cove, Dorset

A slightly wandering 3 mile circular walk.  We intended to follow the Lulworth range walks route but found it was closed (a good reason to always double check the range times) and, as such, we had to detour and head westwards towards Durlde Door beofre calling it a day as we battled a surprising amount of visitors for such an early weekend in the season.

A great walk for the views but I'd recommend doing it mid-week or out of season.

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Bere Regis, Dorset

A good 4.6 mile circular walk over varied terrain.  We parked on the main track into Shitterton.  From ther ethe footpath starts around 100 yeards away.

Shitterton was name over 1,00 years ago and literally means 'farmstead on the stream used as an open sewer'.  Luckily, it isn't used for that purpose nowadays.

The walk climbs up a gorse lines path to Black Hill adn form there, follows the ridge west to Piddle Wood (we really couldn't make this up), on the Jubilee trail.

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Swanage-Durlston, Dorset

A well used 6.7 mile cliff walk with endless return routes amongst the fields.  Parking can be found in a large open car park at the western end of Swanage town.  From there it's a short walk to Peveril Point and the coast guard lookout.  The path turns uphill and follows a well worn route towards Durlston Head.

Depending on the state of the cliff, there may be diversions around any cliff falls so follow the signs rather than the GPX route.

doyster's picture

Tyneham, Dorset

A hilly 6.4 mile circular walk with some steep climbs and descents that circles around the deserted village of Tyneham.

Parking in the Tyneham NT car park (honesty box), the village itself is well worth a visit, especially for the schoolhouse and church. The manor house used to be a highlight but has now been fenced off due to falling masonry.

The route can be shortened and hills avoided to a certain extent. There's a shorter route to Worbarrow Bay, avoiding the steep climb up above Gad Cliff.

walkr's picture

Kimmeridge - Tyneham Cap, Dorset

A hilly 4 mile circular walk with a particularly steep section near the beginning. The walk begins from the car park at Kimmeridge Bay (a pay booth is at the top of the private road).

After leaving the car park and passing the fishermen's cottages, you'll cross a field before heading up a very steep footpath (questioning whether it really is a footpath). Once at the top though, the views are outstanding and, following the ridge toward Tyneham Cap is a treat.

doyster's picture

Studland Heath, Dorset

A lovely 5.9 mile circular walk around Studland Heath with fantastic views over Poole and Bournemouth.

The route visits the Agglestone Rock, a sandstone block of about 400 tonnes weight, perched on a conical hill. Legend has it that the devil threw the rock from The Needles on the Isle of Wight with the intention of hitting either Corfe Castle, Bindon Abbey or Salisbury Cathedral."Aggle" was taken into the old Dorset dialect as meaning "to wobble".*