On Foot

LITTLEBREDY, THE VALLEY OF STONES AND GREY MARE AND HER COLTS

Emma Tabor and Paul Newman

Distance: 4 3/4 miles (plus 1/2 mile detour) Time: Approx. 2 1/2 hours Park: By the village green in Littlebredy Walk Features: Starting from the picturesque village of Littlebredy, the walk heads out onto the downs surrounding the village which form the head of the Bride Valley. There is a climb to reach the Valley of Stones, a curious remnant from around the last Ice Age, before climbing out of the valley and along the top of the downs with good views over the English Channel. It’s then a steady descent back to Littlebredy. As with last month’s walk, there’s also the opportunity to extend the walk with a detour to the Grey Mare and her Colts, a Neolithic burial chamber, this time approaching from the east. Refreshments: The Brewers Arms, Martinstown >

Each month we devise a walk for you to try with your family and friends (including four-legged members) pointing out a few interesting things along the way, be it flora, fauna, architecture, history, the unusual and sometimes the unfamiliar.

Littlebredy is a hidden gem and a wonderful start to the walk, worth exploring with some beautiful buildings including the parish church of St Michael and All Angels and nearby Bridehead House, with a beautiful lake and waterfall. Older settlements and structures feature on this walk too with the earthwork of Old Warren (or Dane’s Camp) to the south and Neolithic structures including several burial mounds to rival that of the landscape surrounding Stonehenge. Sarsen stones from the Valley of Stones were used to build many of the pre-historic structures in this area- the valley is an example of a sarsen stone boulder train, a result of freeze-thaw action at the end of the last Ice Age. It is now also a National Nature Reserve and home to many species including autumn gentian, lichens and the adonis blue butterfly.

Directions Start: SY 587 892 1 Park by the road by the village green in Littlebredy, as close as possible to the wooden memorial shelter. 2 With the village green on your right, walk up the road through the village until you come to a fork in the road with Bridehead estate cottages on your left. Take the right fork and stay on this lane, passing the cricket pitch. Walk gradually uphill through trees, with Bridehead House behind you and after half a mile you will reach

Basket Hill Cottage and a large gateway on your right, with a footpath sign and an information sign for the Valley of Stones. 3 Head up the valley and in just under 100 yards, go through a kissing gate next to a large gate and then keep the hedge on your left. In this field, you will now start to see some of the stones. After approximately 400 yards, pass through another kissing gate to now go slightly right with a fence and the stones also on your right. After a few more yards you then come to a large wooden gate also on your right, towards the top of this field. Go through this gate to walk up through the middle of the Valley of Stones. Walk to the end of the field and turn left along the hedge, keeping the hedge on your right and walk to the top of the field and towards Bishop’s Road, out of the valley. Go through a large metal kissing gate then turn right onto the single-track road. 4 Walk along the road, looking out for amazing views towards the sea on your left. Keep walking until you come to a right fork, before a left bend in the road, with signs for Kingston Russell Stone Circle

and The Grey Mare and her Colts. Walk up this road, forking to the right as you come to a cattle grid. There is another sign to the Stone Circle (20 minutes) and Grey Mare and her Colts (7 minutes). 5 To detour to the Grey Mare and her Colts, go through a large metal gate with signs then walk for seven minutes (!) along a grassy lane to reach a small wooden gate on your left which takes you into a field. Walk ahead and slightly down, following a hedge on your left until you reach two wooden gates, one large and one small. Go through this to find the burial chamber just on your left. Retrace your steps back to the grassy lane until you get to the large metal gate you passed through earlier.

Turn left to continue on the main track which left

Bishop’s Road. 6 If clear, there are amazing far-reaching views further along. Walk along here for half a mile until you reach a large metal gate at a slight fork in the track. The right fork goes to a house, Top Parts, but you take the left fork through the gate with a blue footpath sign on the left post. 7 Walk into the field to then walk down the middle of the valley following the line of the telegraph poles. Old Warren is on the hill ahead to your right.

Pass through a metal gateway into another field and then another metal gate into a farmyard (Foxholes

Farm). Go past the barns and then the farmhouse on your right, then between more barns following the track through the farmyard which then meets the main farm track; to the right leads to the farmhouse, so go left up the track. At the time of writing, the footpath which leaves the farm to go back to Littlebrey could not be established so stay on this track, leaving the farm behind, with a lovely wood below to the left. After 1/3 mile the track bends left and then right through some woods (The Rookery), eventually passing Stonehills Cottage on your right. Keep on the track which then turns to the right, passing the Walled Gardens, (open April- September). Just before the road makes a final short uphill climb to the village green and the start of the walk, go right to follow the sign for the church of St Michael and All Angels as well as the lake and waterfall in the Bridehead grounds. There are some beautiful tree species in the grounds and the lake is located in an equally delightful and stunning setting and is well worth the short detour.

Thanks to Greg, Nicole and Barney for making a very wet walk lots of fun!

Dorset AONB have a brilliant resource, Land of Bone and Stone which tells you more about the rich archaeology of the South Dorset Ridgeway area.