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Tarrant Monkton to Rushton Circular Walk
...Tarrant Monkton is one of the largest of the eight villages in the Tarrant valley and is named for the river and the fact it was owned by Cranborne Abbey. It is a typically beautiful Dorset village with thatched roofs and a well photographed medieval pack horse bridge/ford.
The village pub, the Langton Arms, sits in the northern corner next to All Saints Church. In between these two buildings is the old village school. To some locals this area is known as Education, Ruination and Salvation Corner...
Distance:
Time:
Difficulty:
Start Point:
8 Miles
3 Hours 30 Mins
Easy/Moderate
Langton Arms DT11 8RX
Pub/Restaurant:
1. Walking away from the Langton Arms, back to the road, take the left lane keeping the war memorial on your right. Heading straight down the small road join another at a T-junction. The road you join is the old medieval road from Blandford to Cranborne – or more widely, Weymouth to London. To the west it is now a dead end for vehicles, but for foot traffic, leads to Blandford Camp, an army training base.
2. Turn right to follow the road to the river Tarrant. Here you cross the ford over the old pack horse bridge, which dates to the 16th century. It is just wide enough for the comfortable passage of a loaded animal at 1½ metres.
3. Once over the bridge, to your left is the village hall where, during the summer months, cream teas are served every Sunday. The ford is a rare, stunning example of this particular type of crossing. It has also been used for wedding photos, locals to wash their cars and even featured in a Doctor Who episode!
4. Continue straight on, passing some thatched cottages on your left. When the road bends continue straight on, the terrain breaking into a track. This is Turners Lane and it is the start of your climb out of the valley. As you make your way up, and out of the wooded tunnel, turn yourself around to appreciate the view back down to the village. You can also make out your upcoming walk on the hills opposite. On Turners Lane you cross, for the first time, the Badbury Rings to Bath Roman road. Roman coins have been found in this area.
5. At the top of the hill make your way past the wooden posts, ignore the right hand turn and again, continue straight still on the old medieval road. When it splits, take the right, descending slightly, Launceston Wood huddled to your right.
6. Here you are surrounded by open fields and patches of woodland. You leave Launceston Wood behind, ignore all other diversions and, on reaching a crossroads of tracks, turn right again, this time up a small incline. Ignore the tracks to your right and left and keep heading south, zig-zagging through the wooded clusters.
On arriving at a T-junction turn right. Climb the small hill and through the woods. Once out, the views open up in front of you. Although you cannot make out Tarrant Monkton, the valley is clearly seen in the 180° view. To the left it leads to Tarrant Rawston, Tarrant Rushton, Tarrant Keyneston and Tarrant Crawford. To the right it continues northwards to Tarrant Launceston, Tarrant Hinton and Tarrant Gunville.
7. Turn left on the track and you approach Hogstock Coppice. This is the start of the landscape that was used intensively during World War 2. Tarrant Rushton airfield was a hub of activity. It was the largest employer in the area at that time, housing airmen, mechanics, paramedics as well as the infrastructure to support these roles. Hogstock Coppice was home to one of these small settlements. Now it is buried in the woodland, but as you approach another track, look closely to your left and you may make out the concrete bases of the original layout and tumbled down walls. On joining the track keep left, then, when the track joins a road, turn left.
Stay on the track continuing south. Ignore the track to your left and pass an isolated thatched cottage on your right. When you join a country road, turn left then almost immediately right. Enter the field via a small metal gate and keep the boundary on your right. In the second field go through another gate still keeping the boundary on your right. Here you join the airfield. Turn right and make your way along what is now a concrete road. The landscape opens up with lovely views.
8. To the south lies Badbury Rings, too close to be on the far horizon but its height gives it away. To the west sits the smaller Buzbury rings, mostly hidden by the Ashley Wood golf course.
Two, possibly three, Roman roads lurk in the landscape and, although they aren’t obvious, can be made out. One is the famous Ackling Dyke – Badbury Rings to Old Sarum, the second Badbury Rings to Bath and the third – Badbury Rings to Hod Hill.
Prior to World War 2, Tarrant Rushton airfield was nothing but farmland, but within a matter of months it was transformed into nothing less than a small city. It closed in 1980 having switched from military to civil use in the late 1940s. Head in the direction of one of the original hangers, now a barn. A slight diversion to your right, at the hanger, allows you to appreciate the war memorial. Back to the walk, continue around the end of the airfield. The view to the west becomes more apparent, with Blandford Camp and its mast standing proud at the top of the hill.
The area of the airfield is heavily farmed now, so keep to the concrete path. Occasionally oddities appear reminding you of its past, including one of the old runways disappearing to the horizon on your left. On approaching a little bend in the track, take the bridleway that guides you right down the hill. It is quite a steep descent back to the Tarrant valley and into Tarrant Rushton village.
9.Follow the road down the hill and when the road splits, near a garage, take the right hand fork. Shortly after this, take the footpath that guides you left before St Mary’s Church.
10. Follow the road down and the path takes you past the edge of the old mill. Go over a small footbridge and a stile and follow the footpath round to the right. From now until the end of the walk there will be a high chance of encountering livestock, so be aware. Head for a double stile to the right of the bungalow and then through a rather rickety gate to reach the road.
Cross straight over, through a gate and head to your right. Walk behind the houses and then straight to the farm ahead of you. Go through another gate, turn right and then left through the farm buildings. This farm, and its small collection of buildings, is the hamlet of Tarrant Rawston, the smallest of the Tarrants. It has its own little church which is privately owned in the gardens of the farmhouse.
11. You are now on the home straight back to Tarrant Monkton. The views to your right include Hogstock Coppice, the old routes leading to it and the earlier route of this walk. Stay on the track out of the farm and when faced with two gates, take the right hand option to join a bordered track. Go through a smaller gate, into another field, keeping the field boundary on your left. In the third field, diagonally cut across heading for Luton Farm. Join the road and cut straight across the track, with the buildings on your right. Follow the path behind those buildings to meet a stile in the bottom corner. Turn left, heading uphill, cut straight across three fields, finally reaching another track. Turn right, then left passing the barns on your right. Go through a gate and then take the small gate on your right into the next field, once again cutting diagonally across. The welcome sight of the roofs of Tarrant Monkton’s village appear amongst the trees and on the far left the tower of All Saints Church. Your original climb out of the village via Turners Lane is visible on the opposite hill.
Head to the bottom right hand corner of the field, watching out for a couple of wire fences that you will have to duck under or climb over. Go through the gate and in front of you, through the trees, appear the chimneys of Tarrant Monkton’s old rectory. Keep your eyes peeled on your right for a small stile and climb over. You are now facing All Saints church. Head to the left down the hill, behind the old school and climb your last stile. Follow the track to the gate and back to the Langton Arms for some well deserved refreshment.