For many of us, the area we live in called the Blackmore Vale is a somewhat vague concept and means different things to different people. According to Wikipedia it is an area bounded by the Dorset Downs to the south, Cranborne Chase and a watershed between the Stour and Yeo valleys to the northwest. In open country in the centre of the region near Stalbridge, Sturminster Newton or Gillingham on a clear day, one can see ranges of hills surrounding the area which I thought might define it.
I therefore decided to try to walk these hills and so make my way round the Blackmore Vale and get a better idea of where it was..
Using a contour map, I planned my route try to follow tracks, country lanes and footpaths keeping above 100 metres where possible although inevitably one dips below this height crossing the Yeo at Sherborne, the Stour at Durweston and a few other places.
I ended up with an 80 mile route, starting at Okeford Hill along the Wessex Ridgeway to Buckland Newton then to Sherborne, Wincanton, Mere, Hindon, Ludwell, Shroton and back to Okeford Hill.
There are magnificent views from many places along the way including Okeford Hill, Bulbarrow Hill, Win Green, Hambledon Hill and Hod Hill.
The whole route is in very pretty countryside and there are lovely village such as Buckland Newton, Charlton Horethorne, Maperton, Penselwood, Tollard Royal and Ashmore
There are plenty of hills to climb but all should be manageable by most people of average fitness.
Full circuit GPX file for Smartphones GPS units etc
Full circuit KML file for Google Earth
Like a spider, the route has 8 legs and details of these legs with descriptions, photos and GPS info are shown in other posts.
The legs are:
Okeford Hill - Buckland Newton
Buckland Newton - Sherborne
Sherborne - Wincanton
Wincanton - Mere
Mere - Hindon
Hindon - Ludwell
Ludwell - Shoton
Shroton - Okeford Hill
As with most blogs it starts with the newest post, so if you want to follow it in the order I did (shown above) start by reading the oldest post first.
