THE DORSETSHIRE GAP

Emma Tabor and Paul Newman

Distance: 4 miles

Time: Approx. 2/12 hours

Park: By the road at Folly

Walk Features: At the heart of Dorset, a gentle ascent up to the hills encircling Lyscombe Bottom and small climbs on the approaches to The Gap, with a small ascent and descent on the return leg. A fairly easy route rewarded with some of the most expansive and surprising views in Dorset. Muddy in places, exposed on the hills above Lyscombe Farm with shelter in the woods surrounding The Gap.

Refreshments: The Brace of Pheasants, Plush >

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.

The Dorsetshire Gap is one of those places you may have heard of but never visited. Set in the middle of the county, The Gap is an ancient meeting place of five pathways, some sunken, at a fault in the hills which divide the south and the north of the county. The area really does have a sense of ‘somewhere between two places’, literally and mythically, with views across north Dorset to Duncliffe Hill and the Stourhead Estate and Mendips in Somerset, and south across to the Purbeck Ridge, Poole Harbour and even as far round as The

Needles and the Isle of Wight. Visit on a clear day to make the most of these views. Shrouded in woodland and folklore, the surrounding countryside features the twists and turns of contorted geology, yet is also surprisingly open and the views in all directions make this walk a must. For those who make it there, there is a visitor’s book to sign, kept in a box!

The route takes in part of the Wessex Ridgeway, which runs from Ashmore on Cranborne Chase to Lyme Regis and is part of the Great Ridgeway.

Directions

Start: SY 728 032

1 Park beside the road at Folly, near Folly Farm.

2 Take the track by Folly Farm in the direction of

Dorset Gap, 1 mile. After 1/3 mile, take the right fork and soon pass through a large metal gate. The path now heads steadily uphill, you can either walk between the banks of a sunken section or just above it. The views behind you soon open up across Somerset to the north and The Mendips.

3 In 1/4 mile, you will reach a large metal gate at the top of this small spur, which points southwards. Go through the large gate, stopping to admire the views which now open up to the south, then turn sharp left and follow the rim of the horseshoeshaped Lyscombe valley for 1/2 mile. From here it is possible to make out the entire Purbeck Ridge, Old Harry Rocks, Poole Harbour, Brownsea Island, The Needles and the Isle of Wight. Along the ridge, after passing through more gates, you will soon reach a burial mound surrounded by different tree species. Go through a double set of gates, passing through further gates after a few more yards, to reach the far side of the crescent ridge and the valley, and two sets of cross dykes.

4 At the first set of dykes, now turn sharp left, almost back on yourself, along a line of trees, keeping these on your right. In 200 yards, reach a large metal gate – go through this, with the bank of Nettlecombe Tout Hillfort now ahead. There are good views from here across to Bulbarrow Hill. After a few more yards, at a small concrete block structure, turn sharp right and head towards woods, going slightly downhill, and now with Nettlecombe Tout on your left, enter the woods through a large metal gate.

5 Ignore signs to the left for The Gap and continue to head downhill on a track; which becomes sunken between banks and hedgerows. In 400 yards, you will reach a sign for Dorset Gap/Higher Melcombe. Turn sharp left and walk uphill, between even larger