The broad ridge north of Abbotsbury provides outstanding coast and countryside views over the stunning Dorset landscape. On this ridge is Kingston Russell Stone Circle, the largest surviving early Bronze Age stone circle in Dorset, constructed from massive sarsens, Tertiary conglomerates of cemented stones and flints, sourced from the Valley of Stones barely 1½ miles away. Close by is The Grey Mare and her Colts, Dorset’s best preserved Neolithic chambered tomb, also built with Valley of Stones sarsens. These sites alone are just rewards for the walk up from Abbotsbury. And along the way there are panoramic views to soak up.
The Walk
1. Into Back Street, walk up past left Old Schoolhouse Tea Rooms and Helen Millard Studio in the Old Chapel. Reaching No.3 White Hill Cottages, take the left bridleway-signed track with The Spar House right. Past left Copplestone cottage, follow the stony and sandy meandering path up under trees to the Macmillan Way (MW) half-gate. Through, continue up the gorse edged path onto White Hill with Wears Hill left. At the cattle trough with the three-way signpost, keep straight up the grass path, signed ‘Abb Hill-Fort’, with a fence above-right. Reaching 1½ MW-gates, go through and round the right end of the facing green ‘cliff’, the result of historic rotational slumping of the hillside. Up to the hedge’s MW-gate and three-way bridleway-post, go through and, leaving the main track, turn right onto the green path.
2. Walk up to the right of the stone ‘cliff’ end and pass the left dead tree. Keep to the clearest path going east (E) then north-north-east (NNE) to meet the West Bexington bridleway at the MW/bridleway-gate. Through, take the left ‘Littlebredy 2¾’ green track up along the field’s fence and over the crest of White Hill. Past a left gate, continue down to the corner MW/bridleway gate by the cattle trough. Through, turn right to the corner MW/bridleway half-gate. Through, descend the narrow-enclosed path to join the concrete farm track at a MW-post. Continue steeply down to Gorwell Farm’s drive with the three-way signpost. Ignore the MW ‘Grey Mare and Her Colts 1’ right.
3. Turning left, walk down the valley drive, with bird song all around. Past the left lake, continue past the workshops and left Gorwell Farmhouse. Passing the right ‘Grey Mare and Her Colts ¾’ signed footpath, continue for ‘Kingston Russell Stone Circle ½’. Don’t fork left at the paddock. Continue round right on the drive past the left play area. At facing Mead Cottage, fork left to 1½ bridleway-gates. Through, at the three-way signpost, go right up the bridleway against the wire fence, then straight up the hill to the top corner’s facing bridleway-gateway. Through to a ¾-gate, go through onto the hedged/fenced enclosed grass path. Ascending steeply, notice Golden Cap far away on your left. Through the end ¾-gate, pass the right field-gate and go through the facing 1½ footpath-gates.
4. Follow the right hedge up to the gateway. Cross over the bridleway-signposted chalk track and, at the multi-arrowed signpost, bear left to Kingston Russell Stone Circle on Tenants Hill. The circle of 18 recumbent stones is oval, measuring about 24m by 28m, the largest stone being about 2.4m long. After exploring, and enjoying long views in all directions, return to the multi-arrowed signpost and turn left, south-east (SE) on the chalk track. Following this track, hedged right and with two long fields left, notice distant Hardy Monument forward left. The track becomes grassier and rutted until the second left field ends at a right multi-arrowed signpost. Here, go through the right hedge’s half-gate, signed ‘Permissive Path Grey Mare and Her Colts’ and ‘Footpath Abbotsbury 2’. The footpath follows the electricity posts down the field to Gorwell Farm.
5. However, follow the left hedge for 100 yards to 1½ gates. Go through to Grey Mare and Her Colts. The mound is aligned north-west to south-east and is about 40m long by 20m at its widest. The stone sarsens stand mostly as originally erected around the single chamber’s south-east entrance, but the huge capping stone has fallen into the chamber. After exploring, return to the sign-posted bridleway-track you left a moment ago and continue for ‘Gorwell 1¾, Abbotsbury 1½’. Past the field corner gate, follow the enclosed grass track with one long left field to the end 1½ bridleway-gates. Through onto a farm track bend, continue to Gorwell Farm’s drive with right cattle-grid and Portland far ahead.
6. Go straight on down the drive to the road triangle. Turn right down to the lay-by on the left bend. Go through the facing 1½ gates, bridleway-signed ‘West Bexington 4’. Walk up the field’s track with a left fence/hedge to the three-way signpost-gateway. Through, take the minor, but well-walked, ‘Abbotsbury 1½ bridleway’ path SSW over White Hill field with the Fleet and St Catherine’s Chapel below. Continue down and swinging right to join the old track and bridleway-gate in the narrow valley. Through, continue down the grass track, then reducing to a path, over slumped ground and past a left thicket. Cross the track (left goes, unsigned, to Bishop’s Limekiln) and continue down past more ‘Colts-type’ rocks and past two cattle troughs in damp sedge ground. Then, swinging left, continue down, aiming towards an aerial mast in the field across the road. Down the grass gully, find the fence’s half-gate, bridleway-signed back ‘White Hill ½’. Through, turn right down the road, passing left East Farm gates and into ‘Abbotsbury’ at the village sign. Continue down past left Bishops Close and Rosemary Road and between the older cottages back to Strangways Hall where you started.
Compass Points
Distance: 4½ miles/7.25 km
Time: 3 hours
Start: Strangways Hall in Abbotsbury, opposite Ilchester Arms (Grid Ref: SY576854)
Exertion: Mildly strenuous with two long ascents, and descents
Map: OS Landranger Sheet 194
Public Transport: First Jurassic Coast X52/X53 between Lyme Regis & Weymouth (except Sunday)
Dogs: On leads near livestock and on roads. Follow The Countryside Code
Refreshments: Old Schoolhouse Tea Rooms or Ilchester Arms in Abbotsbury
