Saxon Shaftesbury

Recommended by

Walk directions

With your back to the window of the tourist information centre on Bell Street, turn left. Walk down to a terrace of houses. Turn right, down Mustons Lane. Pass a Palladian former church on the left, now a restaurant. At the High Street turn right. The High Street broadens into a market square by The Mitre pub, with medieval St Peter’s Church and the Town Hall. Ahead is a line of shops and houses. Just after the Town Hall and before a postbox turn left down a narrow lane; you’ll suddenly find yourself at the top of the picturesque Gold Hill, with a view of the green Dorset hills behind. At the top is the Gold Hill Museum.

The massive walls of Shaftesbury Abbey stand opposite the houses on Gold Hill. Walk down the hill to St James’s Street. Turn left into Layton Lane (no pavement) and follow the road along the contour of the hill. After 0.5 miles (800m), pass the junction with Shooters Lane on the left and, further on, the junction with French Mill Lane. Continue ahead up Hawkesdene Lane.

As you reach the top, turn right and go through a wooden kissing gate to enter Wilderness Park. Follow the grassy path above the trees and down. Go through a kissing gate at the end and turn immediately right, along the edge of the field. Cross a stile then turn left down the narrow lane. Continue for some 700yds (640m) until you reach Three Ways Cottage, where you turn right.

Go forward along the lane, pass a left turning to Gears Mill and follow the road as it climbs steadily back up to the town. After 0.5 miles (800m) pass Holyrood Farm on the left, and keep straight on up the hill, passing the junction with French Mill Lane on the right. Just after a postbox and before a crossroads, take the steep and uneven footpath down to the left.

Follow this leafy lane downhill and bear right at a junction, up a track which becomes Kingsman Lane. At the top turn left onto James’s Street, packed with terraced cottages. Pass Ye Olde Two Brewers Inn on the left and pause to admire the Pump Yard, a pretty mews, further along on the right. Turn right, up Tanyard Lane. At the top turn right by some garages into Laundry Lane. Almost immediately turn left up Stoney Path, a steep and cobbled path (handrail). This leads to the top of town, and the views improve as you climb. At the top, take the left fork in the park and go through a small, iron kissing gate in the wall. Turn left along Love Lane and take the first path up to the right, called Langfords Lane. At the end turn right. Cross the road and then, just beyond the ambulance station, turn left down a path between No. 37 and No. 35.

This leads to a vantage point with superb views to the north. Retrace your steps to the main road and turn left, passing Ox House. Cross over then turn right, down Abbey Walk, passing an old pump. Pass the curious Old School House on the left and turn left at the war memorial. Pass the entrance to the abbey ruins. At the end of the walkway keep left, to emerge at the High Street by the Town Hall and the top of Gold Hill. Turn left and then take the first turning on the right, into Bell Street, to return to the Tourist Information Centre.

View all directions

Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Town pavements, steep cobbles, quiet lanes

Landscape - Town and far-reaching, pastoral views

Dog friendliness - Town centre not good for dogs (lots of road walking)

Parking - Bell Street car park

Toilets en route - At car park next to tourist information centre

Walks in Dorset Dog-friendly walks in Dorset

About the walk

The town of Shaftesbury is thought to have been founded by the Saxons. The highest town in Dorset, and near to the county border with Wiltshire, Shaftesbury is surrounded by the rolling countryside of the Blackmoor Vale. In medieval times worshippers flocked to Shaftesbury Abbey. It played a...

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

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.