Take a Hike: Easy Witchampton Circular |

10.3 miles

It’s a rare thing to find a flat Dorset walk – but here it is. Ten easy hill-free miles, also surprisingly free of wobbly stiles through thickly-brambled hedges and hardly any map reading either, as you follow broad farm tracks and wide green lanes. It was a spur-of-the-moment route plan a couple of years ago, when we foolishly thought we might walk from Badbury Rings on a sunny summer’s day. We saw the queue for the car park and swiftly thought better of that plan! Because we were working on the fly, we parked on a broad grass verge, but since then we’ve found that it’s simple to park in the village of Witchampton and pick up the route there. Another option in quieter months is to add half a mile or so and walk our originally plan, starting from the Badbury Rings car park (free if you’re a National Trust member). The route brings you through the pretty hamlet of Manswood, right past The Buildings, its famous terrace of 12 pretty cottages which together form one of the longest continuous stretches of thatch in the country. Moving on from The Buildings, do also pause to appreciate the architecture of Manswood’s Old School as you pass: I’m always fascinated by its odd assortment of timbers, turrets and chimneys.

There’s not much more to add – it’s just a straightforward, delightful and astonishingly hedge-andstile free Dorset walk which we re-visit often!

• CLICK HERE for more images and an interactive map (plus downloadable gpx file)

See all previouslypublished Dorset Walks on the website here. You can also find every route we’ve walked (including many which are unpublished in The BV) on OutdoorActive here (just zoom in/out on the map) – all include a downloadable gpx file.

Look both ways before crossing Annette Gregory

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Jimmy (Talan Blue) is just trying to stay awake – he had a big weekend at the Kingston Maurward event!