Hard difficulty. Distance 4 miles (6.5 km) – approx 2 hours
This walk, on the easterly side of the parish close to Dalwood village, takes a circular route on paths and country lanes through the turbary on Horner Hill with resplendent views of the Corry Valley and beyond to the Channel at Axmouth. There is also a chance to visit Beckford bridge on the River Yarty – a packhorse bridge long used by travellers and livestock before the days of vehicles. Approx. 4 miles 2 hours – some flat sections but some fairly steep ascents and descents – some sections can be muddy.
Begin this walk at Sandpits (grid ref ST251025) beyond Beacon Hill which can be approached from Stockland and Heathstock, or from Dalwood and Danes Hill – some limited parking at the roadside. Follow the signs for Bridlepath 37 close to the entrance for Sandpits, following the track until you turn right through a gate at some woods at Holcombe Pit. The path follows downwards through another gate and then skirts southwards across the ‘Bomb Field’ – (during World War Two, a German bomber jettisoned some of its lethal weaponry in this field and the local boys had a field day collecting the shrapnel straight after school. Several wise men in the village suggested it was a direct consequence of Toby Stapleforth’s practice of checking his livestock at night with a Tilley lamp!).
At the next gate you are now in the turbary and the path levels through the woods, past three derelict cottages uninhabited since the 1930s but believed to have housed workers in the Flax Mill in the valley below. There was a roadway here and the remains of gardens can be seen. Roe deer are close and the sound of buzzards above is never far away in the spring and summer. Follow the path still further upwards avoiding the right-hand path which takes you down to the valley floor. The path then gets slightly steeper until you leave the woods and are in more open heathland with bracken and gorse and spectacular views to the Channel in the south and the Corry Valley closer. Much conservation work has taken place over the past few years to regain dry areas of dry heath by removing bracken and replacing with Foxgloves, Greater Stitchwort and Sweet Vernal Grass. This work is ongoing.
The path continues uphill with a welcoming seat until you return into woods and then begin a short but steep descent towards the lane near Starveacre and Hawks Hill. You may see early purple orchids in this lane in April.
Turn left on the lane or, alternatively if you want to visit the Tucker’s Arms at Dalwood, turn right at through a metal gate at the footpath, and into the grounds of Baggaton Inn (an old smuggler’s and cider inn) following the path downwards for approx. 600 yards until you reach the road. Turn right and you are on the edge of Dalwood village with the pub further on over the bridge on your left. Retrace your steps back over the bridge and follow the footpath on your right uphill. Tun left at the top at the road back to the start of the diversion – distance two miles.
Turn left at the wider lane and follow for a few hundred yards and turn right at Footpath 24. You are now descending towards the River Yarty along an old lane to Cuckoo’s Pit where more cottages were located. Older maps state that this was Cuckold’s Pit! You then follow the path over a stile, downwards through woods, and to another gate to Lower Farm, which is another old farmstead famed for its cider. Follow the farm track to the lane and turn right for Beckford Bridge which is a short walk away and an ideal spot for picnicking by the stream.
Retrace your steps up the road and then continue up the Yarty Valley for approx. one mile until you reach Three Ashes Cross. Here turn left at the sign for Unmetalled road. Follow this straight upwards and then bear left a little further. The path then meanders upwards. Look back to check the wide views across the Yarty Valley and beyond to Dorset and Somerset. Some sections here can be muddy especially in the winter, but you have completed a walk using some old route ways with some of the finest views in the parish.
