This is a brief account of my walk between 4 th and 12 th April from Lyme Regis on the south coast, across Dorset and into Wiltshire ending at Warminster. Lyme Regis is a mornings bus ride away and Warminster has good rail connections to Southampton and Weymouth. Basically it is a walk across Dorset into Wiltshire along mostly high ground or ridges. The highest point in Dorset through which the trail passes is Lewisdon Hill at 279 m but the Ridgeway passes over others which are a similar height, e.g. Pilsdon Pen and Bulbarrow Hill both over 270 m. In general, it is a pleasant walk over a mixture of terrain including Wessex lanes, Downland, Coppices and Woods, Agricultural land including grassland, grazed land and arable and a few stretches on relatively minor roads with little traffic and not for long (probably the longest is 2 or 3 km). There are magnificent views to the coast at several points on the ridges and it is worth spending some time identifying the various landmarks if the sky is clear of course.
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| View from Bulbarrow Hill (274 m) with the gap in the ridge at Ansty clear but the Dorsetshire Gap to the right of this less evident., |
My first port of call was Lyme Regis and it took me a little time to adjust to having a rucksack especially when trying to get around cafes and shops. I couldn't find a particular start to the route so I just followed the stream (Lyme) inland until eventually the track was marked. I didn't have a particular destination for the day but knew I couldn't get to a booked Bed and Breakfast (B&B)at Beaminster (about 20 miles distance) in an afternoon and so had planned to camp and then get supplies in Thorncombe for the second day. This worked out well but does involve a steeepish climb off the route to find the village shop near the church. Because of the recent rain, the route was very muddy in places and the stretch before Thorncombe was particularly rough because of cattle and a few electric fences.
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| Morning break under a lonesome pine with a view along the ridge at Blackdown Hill above the village. |
A steep climb up Venn Hill led to a ridge at Blackdown giving views across the valley to Thorncombe. Soon after this I found some confusion in signs at Lower Newnham farm but on enquiring the best option is to go through the farm stackyard and across grass fields to find Sheepwash Lane, my first Holloway (sucken lane).
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| Sheepwash lane before Courtwood farm, a pleasant if not muddy Holloway. |
The next section was a great part of the walk going up Lewesdon Hill lane along the northern boundary of a mixed woodland with some delightful beech trees marking the way.
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| Track lined with beech trees from Lewesdon Hill down to Stoke Knapp. |
Past Stoke Knapp, the route goes over grassland and up to Gerrard's Hill (174 m) and onto Beaminster where I had reserved a B&B at the Bridge House Hotel.
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| View to the destination of the day, Beaminster taken from Gerrard's Hill |
Beaminster is one of the larger towns on the route and offers lots of opportunities to restock and get refreshments.
I was greeted by another sunny day to enjoy a stroll over the hills with no particular destination in- mind. The walk started on tarmac and then a cobbled or rutted lane to gain the ridge at Mintern's Hill to the north of Beaminster. This followed a ridge mainly on lanes through agricultural land, giving excellent views to the south and the coastline.
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| A clear blue sky over grazing cows with the south coast and "Golden Cap" in distant view. This was taken from the long ridge east of Beaminster. |
The path then descended through fields to Toller Whelme and Hooke and then to Lower Kingcombe. This was a mixed stretch with some horrible rutted grassland without paths and a delightful woodland or coppice (Kingcombe Coppice). I stopped in the coppice for lunch amongst the blue bells that had come into flower over the last few days of warm weather. Although the beech were not getting their leaves, some of the older oak and certainly birch and hawthorn were now in leaf. Of course there were lots of pussy willow and blackthorn flowering.
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| A pond at Toller Whelme near the manor house in the village. |
From the coppice is was a short walk on a lane to Lower Kingcombe alongside a recently "plashed" hedge ( a midland term for hedge layering). The path doesn't go into the village but it is worth a short deviation (on flat ground!) to find the The Kingcombe Centre, run by Dorset Wildlife Trust, and a cup of coffee and cake (or lunch, and they also provide B&B which I hadn't known about: https://www.kingcombe.org/tearoom.html).
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| Hedge layered lane with a view back to Kingcombe Coppice. I think the hedge was hazel. |
From Lower Kingcombe it was a climb to the main A356 to gain the Higher Drove road into Maiden Newton and a well signed track besides the River Frome through the water meadows. There is a general store and pub in the village and also a petrol station with a large shop. I continued on the route under the railway and on a farm track towards the next village Sydling St Nicholas finding a camping spot on route with a view over the village.
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| First view of Maiden Newton village from the Higher Drove road. |
The route then climbs above Sydling to Cowdown Hill and a ridge leading north towards Gore Hill but turns east before the top and descends to Up Cerne and onto Minterne Parva before climbing again to the Giant's Head campsite conveniently placed with the Wessex Ridgeway path going through the campsite.
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| View back down the track from Sydling village with the ridge from yesterday's walk in the skyline. |
From the campsite I explored Cerne Abbas, the nearest village about 30 minutes walk away. The campsite owners were very helpful and I had a choice of places to pitch, choosing a place near a picnic table for a little luxury. The picturesque village, set in the valley below, has shops, pubs and a café so I was able to get an evening meal and resupply for the days ahead.
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| The uphill climb to the Giant's Head campsite from Minterne Parva, the village in the distance. |
The next day was a gentle stroll, with a few "ups and downs" thrown in, towards the village of Ibberton passing though the Dorsetshire Gap and another high point at Bulbarrow Hill (259 m). I didn't find the "Gap" to be that remarkable, pleasant enough walking but not particularly noticeable on approach or from the view from Bulbarrow Hill later in the day.
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View to the south from Bulbarrow Hill. The gap in the ridge in the distance is the Ansty valley. The Dorsetshire Gap is the right of this.
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I later stopped for lunch in Breach Wood before crossing some arable land and a stream after Crockers Farm. Soon after Bulbarrow Hill, the route meets a ridge tarmac road leading to Okeford Hill but I diverted from the road along a local council path to descend into Ibberton village and a pub meal at "The Ibberton" pub (no longer "The Crown"). I had a welcome ale and great meal before rejoining the path and setting off towards Shillingstone, finding a nights camping on Bell Hill.
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| Path through Breach Wood, my lunch stop with temperatures in the twenties and a clear blue sky. My rucksack which I've used for many years on these hikes, is on it's last legs with zips and seams failing. |
Near Shillingstone at the cycle trail where the route passes under the old train line, I was directed to the railway station and café for refreshments. This was a little out of the way but I had plenty of time and enjoyed the drink as the day was already quite warm and I needed fresh water. Soon after this the path drew alongside the river Stour for a moment before entering Cliff Coppice and then on to Hanford farm. Passing though the farm was difficult as the route was barred by three metal gates which were basically locked. Something needs to be done about this and I have made a complaint as the existing route is dangerous.
The next section was very pleasant walking up Hambledon Hill and then down a chalk track to the village of Shroton in time for lunch at "The Cricketers Pub". As it was Sunday, there were more people about walking or going for a picnic on the hill, in fact the most people I had seen on the whole trip! My next destination was Ashmore, the highest village in Dorset but as I had not been able to find accommodation in the two B&Bs in Ashmore or pub further on in Tollard Royal, it was another camping night. On route I met another long-distance walker in Preston Wood. She was doing the trail in day sections in the opposite direction and also remarked that I was the first trail walker she'd met on the route; may be it was too early in the season for the majority. I had a break in Ashmore Wood before continuing on and camping as the sun dropped below the horizon and the temperatures plummeted again.
My next leg was to progress north to Ludwell where I had B&B at the "The Grove Arms" and get supplies at the village store. They were re-thatching in Ashmore and as I left the village I noted a sign saying it was 100 km to Lyme Regis (a little further on my Sat Nav), anyway, no views of the sea for a while! The next section was a pleasant walk over fields and a country lane to Tollard Royal. Here I had a break sitting looking over the village pond.
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| Break at Tollard Royal overlooking the village pond. House fire smoke as evidence to the cold night. |
The next section from Tollard Royal was not a ridge walk but a delightful valley walk through sheep country and past Ashcombe House with all its Private notices and metal posts showing the way. However, you need to keep track of your position as the turn-off left to gain the hill at Win Green is not marked as the Wessex Ridgeway. Anyway, after some huffing and puffing I found the summit at Win Green (277 m) and a view over the valley to the north and New Wardour castle. The route from the top is not well marked but you need to go down the track a little to the south-west and then descend the hill on the west side of the field boundary which brings you to a minor road and through a gate to enter a woodland path a little further down. The route then goes over agricultural land and aside a working watercress farm to enter Ludwell. I had a great stay at "The Groves Arms" in the village and got supplies at the village store.
I awoke to another bright day and a gentle walk along another pleasant holloway or lane towards Milkwort and Donhead St Andrew. I didn't divert to Donhead but continued on the route to Old Wardour Castle and New Wardour Castle (which I gather is apartments). This is a very picturesque area with lots of old oaks and limes scattered around the lake. The old castle in owned by English Heritage and open to the public.
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| Holloway joined after leaving Ludwell. |
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| Old Oak tree I noticed on the approach to Old Wardour Castle. |
As this was my longest day walking of about 20 miles, I continued on through Wiltshire to Hindon for a pub lunch, a treat and fresh water at the village store. The route then joined an Ox Drove track to cross the A303 for a climb to "Great Ridge", a large woodland. Some signs in the wood are not clear so you have check the OS map on major turns. From the woodland it was a long walk mainly on a gravel track to the village of Corton and then across farmland to Heytesbury on the river Wylye from which the valley gets its name. After another road crossing (A36), I made my way to higher ground and made camp with a view over the Wylye valley with the hope of a bright sunrise. This turned out to be optimistic as the morning was very cool with a distinct cold wind. However, rather than sunshine to wake to, I opened my tent to see three deer grazing nearby. The rest of the day was the coldest of the trip over the hill forts: Scratchbury Hill, around Middle Hill and over Battlesbury Hill to descend to the out-skirts of Warminster, my final destination. I entered Warminster from the north and found accommodation, lots of cafes and shops (including an outdoor equipment shop), museum and large park area.
In total my GPS Garmin made this 171.4 km (107 miles) with a total ascent of 4703 metres and it took me 8 days walking averaging about 13.4 miles a day with some longer days and shorter ones (my last day was about 6 miles). I had the 1994 guide book of Priscilla Houston, the lady who was instrumental in documenting the route but written for those doing the route from north to south. In practice I didn't use the guidebook because of the practicality of reading it from back to front so as to speak. The Cicerone guide is out of print and second-hand copies are in the hundreds of pounds to purchase! I used OS Explorer maps, way-marking signs and had a GPS track as a backup (https://www.walkingenglishman.com/ldp/wessexridgeway.html). The track is not detailed but I found it excellent when I needed reassurance that I was on the right path across a field. The OS maps do of course show field boundaries but the Wessex Ridgeway trail is often shown incorrectly as regards field boundaries and also where the route cross these boundaries, e.g. the path may be shown to cross the boundary at a field corner but actually crosses it midway along the boundary. Way-marking is generally good in Dorset with both the wooden finger-pointers and circular disks, There are a few places where these are missing, usually as a result of farming activity such as removing hedgerows or just warn out, broken or missing. Sometimes the route is shared with other long distance trails such as the Monarch's Way, Liberty Trail, Hardy's Way and varies local council footpaths so you have to be aware which signs you are following! The situation in Wiltshire is slightly different as the wooden finger posts are not used but the new circular disks have been attached to posts recently and the directions are generally clear and easy to follow.
There is a lot of ascents and descents along the trail in Dorset and this lessens once across the border. This means you get great views on clear days (I was lucky as every day was clear with no rain during the whole period I was walking). However, the path does vary a lot from tracks on chalk land which are generally dry, to muddy agricultural tracks churned up by tractors as well as bridle ways used by horse riders. I found the "Holloways" or sunken lanes very pleasant even though some of these were muddy. There are not enough walkers using some sections of the paths across grassland to make a definite imprint and the ground can be rough because of cattle tracks.
Compared with other long distance trails such as the South Downs Way, the Wessex Ridgeway does not have so many possibilities for overnight accommodation that are convenient to the trail. This means you have to reserve overnight stays well in advance, be prepared to take public transport off route or camp. I did a combination so that I camped on 6 nights and had bed and breakfast accommodation on 3 nights. I only found one commercial campsite that I could use, "The Giant's Head" campsite near Cerne Abbas.
