This isn’t really ‘near’ anywhere: it’s a lovely figure of eight walk using Harley Gap as the central crossover, with plenty of solitude and views across Cranborne Chase.
This is a shortened route of one we did a few years ago – which we remembvered as lovely in places, but not fabulous in others. So we created a shorter 6-mile version – and it turned out to be a corker. We mostly had the whole route to ourselves, except for one delightful elderly couple who we bumped into twice. They’re in their 80s and do a variation of this route regularly! They also informed us that they always head home for a cup of tea, a slice of cake and a nap, which seems to me an incredible wise course of action.
The paths were mostly easy to follow (we were stuck on the wrong side of the fence once, but have corrected the map for you) and the bluebells and ransom were in their first flush – if the route seems to wander intno the woods briefly, I was off on a bluebell photo mission! We had a fabulous few hours taking this one at a very gentle pace, stopping to enjoy the views at every turn. The paths are often straight for long stretches, allowing you to be free of map reading, and the echoses of ancient britain are all around you here: Tumuli, an ancient settlement and of course the Roman Ackling Dyke.
Just some gorgeous Dorset walking.
All the Dorset Walks we feature have been created and walked recently by ourselves, so you know you can trust them – we aim for unpopulated routes with as little road and as many views as possible! You can always see the route and follow it yourself via the free Outdoor Active app – see all our routes here.
