Rural Dorset

Day 1 Arrival in Blandford Forum

Starting in the Georgian market town of Blandford Forum, this area of English countryside is perfect for cycle rides.

Day 2 Blandford Forum to Sherborne 33 miles

Passing through Milton Abbas, which was acquired by Joseph Damer in 1752. He built the present mansion beside the abbey church and to obtain privacy he demolished the village properties too close to his property. The houses, almshouses, school and church were relocated and rebuilt on the present site in Milton Abbas. The days ride ends in Sherborne, an old and interesting town with two castles. Old Sherborne castle, built in the 12th century, was captured and destroyed by Cromwell. The present Sherborne Castle was built in the 16th century by Sir Walter Raleigh.

Day 3 Sherborne to Shaftesbury 28 miles

Leave Sherborne, after visiting the abbey church with its delicate fan vaulting and stained glass windows, and take a leisurely ride to Shaftesbury, overlooking the Blackmoor Vale. Riding through Stalbridge, an attractive village with a 14th century yellow hamstone market cross standing 30 feet high on the main street. Marnhull, a most attractive village situated on a limestone ridge and the birthplace of Tess in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles . From Marnhull it is north to Gillingham on the edge of the Blackmoor Vale. The days ride ends in Shaftesbury an ancient hill-top town on the site of a fortress. The famous Gold Hill has a medieval cobbled surface with a 13th century wall on one side and 16th and 17th century houses on the other.

Day 4 Shaftesbury to Blandford Forum 14 or 31 miles

Mileage today is either 14 if you need to make a short ride to enable you to start your journey home, or 31 if you have a little more time to explore the rural villages of Dorset such as Pimperne, like so many of Dorset's villages dating back to the era of the Doomsday Book