Ibberton and the Wessex Ridgeway

The Wessex Ridgeway is a long-distance footpath that runs for 137 miles (220km) from Marlborough in Wiltshire across Dorset to Lyme Regis. The 62 miles (100km) of the Dorset section start at the high point of Ashmore. Although it was only completed in 1980, the path follows much older routes across the hills and downs. This walk uses a good stretch of it, on the chalk ridge between Okeford Hill and Bulbarrow Hill.

The view from the Ridgeway at this point is captivating. You’re 902ft (275m) above sea level and from the viewing table you can identify the distant Blackdown and Quantock hills to the left, the symmetrical mound of Glastonbury Tor ahead, and, to your right, Shaftesbury and Cranborne Chase. Immediately below, the patchwork fields of Blackmoor Vale are spread out in shades of green and brown, with clumps of trees and scattered dwellings and farms. Even today they are the little communities, linked by hedges and lanes, which Thomas Hardy captured so well in his novels and poetry.

Tucked under the hill and spreading up its flank, Ibberton is a particular delight, a blend of stone, flint and thatch, with old and new houses side by side. The church is somewhere very special. One of only three in the country dedicated to St Eustace, it sits high above the village and has an enviable view over the valley. Its grey stone is silvered with lichen and the wall by the door leans alarmingly. Inside there is a tranquil atmosphere of light and space. Fragments of medieval glass splash gold in the otherwise plain leaded windows. There are no pews, but wooden chairs are ranged around, suggesting that this is a well-used community space. Faded photographs show the church in a state of collapse during rebuilding in 1901. There was a wooden gallery still in existence around that time. A hollowed-out millstone was once the only font. The memorial to a young man killed in World War I is on a touchingly human scale too, with a tiny painted portrait hanging on a pillar. He was Charles Hugh Plowman, the rector’s younger son. He died in Macedonia, leaving no mortal remains to be returned to his grieving family. With three other villagers, he is also remembered on the war memorial – the church clock.

From the picnic site car park, turn left along the road, following the route of the Wessex Ridgeway, with the village of Ibberton laid out below you to the right. The road climbs gradually, and you will see the masts on Bulbarrow Hill ahead.

After a mile (1.6km) pass a car park on the left, with a Blackmoor Vale and Woodland Hill information board. At a junction bear right and immediately right again. Pass another car park on the right. The woods of Woolland Hill now fall away steeply on your right. Pass the radio masts to your left and reach a small gate into a field on your right, near the end of the wood. Before taking it, go the extra few steps to the road junction ahead for a wonderful view of the escarpment stretching away to the west.

Go through the gate and follow the uneven bridleway down. Glimpse a spring-fed lake through the trees on the right. At the bottom of the field swing left to a gate. Go through this onto a road. Turn right, continuing downhill. Follow the road into Woolland, passing the Manor House and the Old School House.

Just beyond the entrance to Woolland House on the left, turn right into a lane and immediately left through a kissing gate. The path immediately forks. Take the left-hand track, down through some marshy patches and a stand of young sycamores. Posts with yellow footpath waymarkers lead straight on across the meadow, with gorse-clad Chitcombe Down up to the right. Cross a small quagmire and a footbridge over the stream. Go straight on to cross a road. Keeping straight on, go over a stile in the hedge. Bear left down an uncomfortably overgrown enclosed path – arm yourself with a stick if possible – and cross a stile to continue down. Cross a footbridge and go through a gate to continue along the left side of the next field. Go through a gate to a road junction. Walk straight up the road ahead and follow it right, into Ibberton. Bear right to reach The Ibberton pub.

Continue up this road through the village. It steepens and becomes a path, bearing right. There are some steps that lead up to the church. Continue up the steep and stony path, which may be treacherous in heavy rain. Cross the road and go straight ahead through the gate. Keep straight on along a fence, climbing steadily. Cross under some power lines, continue in the same direction, still climbing. Carry on up a large area of open pasture, to a small gate in the hedge. Do not go through the gate, but turn sharp left, up the slope. There’s no footpath to speak of, so skirt to the left of the trees above you and then aim for a small metal gate. This will bring you onto the road opposite the car park.