Around Horton

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Walk directions

Go towards the village, turn left over the stile by the pump and head towards Horton Tower, crossing five more stiles in quick succession. Go up the hill, bearing diagonally left. Cross the fence at the top corner and turn right for the tower, which stands 140ft (42m) high.

Retrace your steps from the tower and stay on the track heading downhill, and go through a gate into Ferndown Forest (Priors Copse). After 275yds (250m) bear left (straight on) onto a firmer track for 110yds (100m) and turn right at the marker post. Keep ahead (southwards) through Queen’s Copse, later crossing a stream and a track to reach a wooden barrier.

Pass this barrier, go through an earth bank and immediately turn left following the bank and ditch on your left. Turn right just before the edge of the wood, and follow the path for 0.75 miles (1.2km). Bear left at the split (marker post) to a track and turn left, following the track through a gate to reach Paradise Farmhouse.

Turn left along the track between the two houses and follow it towards Holt Lodge Farm. At the cross junction turn right and follow the track as it curves left. After 160yds (150m), where the track curves left, go straight on between the fence (left) and hedge (right) following a ‘public footpath’ sign. Unfortunately, the path can become clogged with nettles.

Keep straight ahead to cross a stile, and turn immediately left to a gate at Early’s Farm. Turn right in front of the house and follow the track for 0.25 miles (400m). At a T-junction after Chapel Farm, turn left (signed to ‘The Longhouse’) and, where the track bends left in front of a gate, go right over a stile. Bear left around the field, cross another stile behind a house and continue to the road.

Turn left, and just before Pee Wee Lodge turn right along the track. Keep straight on at the junction (left heads for Horton Heath Farm), then fork right to Grixey Farm. Follow the waymarker uphill, crossing three stiles, and bear right to a field then left up alongside the copse on the left to a stile.

Turn left along the track for 0.25 miles (400m) and bear left, signed ‘Monmouth Ash Farm’, and take the bridleway to the right of the house. Keep straight on and at the split take the left bridleway up over a sandy heath (disused pits) and down into woodland, which is now home to Remedy Oak Golf Club. Keep right at a green metal gate in front of a small brick building. At the split (marker post) fork left to pass the clubhouse and continue along the metalled road; later you can see Horton Tower.

Walk to the right of the golf club gates and turn left towards Woodlands Manor Farm. Cross the stile and fork right towards Greenlands Farm along a metalled track with a fence on the left. At the junction bear down to the right between two lakes and stay on this road. After it becomes a track, look for a yellow marker on the right pointing to the other side of the hedge, just after the farm. On the far side, go diagonally across the field to two stiles. Bear right to the corner of the next field. Go past a gate and turn right to meet the road.

Turn left through Haythorne but, just after the ‘Horton’ sign and before the road starts descending, go right through trees to a gateway and follow the enclosed path downhill to emerge by the vineyard. Turn left along the track and left again to return to your car.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Field paths, tracks, some road

Landscape - Gently rolling farmland, mixed woodland

Dog friendliness - On lead on road sections

Parking - Lay-by with postbox, near village hall, on eastern edge of Horton

Toilets en route - None on route

Walks in Dorset Dog-friendly walks in Dorset

About the walk

The countryside around Horton holds a sad reminder of a flamboyant rebel, who was captured here after being discovered asleep in a ditch below an ash tree. On 11 June 1685, James, Duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate son of the late King Charles II, landed from exile in Holland at Lyme Regis. West...

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Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

Dorset is made up of rugged coastlines, high chalk downlands and a chain of picturesque villages and seaside towns that make up Britain’s Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, noted for its layers of shale and numerous fossils embedded in the rock. Hidden gems of Dorset can be found down winding, country lanes that lead to snug villages hidden from view.