Dorset countryside walk: Sixpenny Handley circular

In the far north-east corner of Dorset, bounded by Shire Rack (on the Dorset/Wiltshire border), Bokerley Ditch (on the Dorset/Hampshire border), and the A354 between Blandford Forum and Salisbury, lies Sixpenny Handley. The largest of the Cranborne Chase villages, it was formerly two distinctly separate hundreds, ‘Sexpena’ (Old English for Saxon hilltop) and ‘Hanlega’ (high clearing), the two hundreds were united as the ‘Hundred of Sexpenne et Henle’ in the 14th century. Prior to its dissolution in 1539, Shaftesbury Abbey had owned substantial land and properties mostly within a 20-mile radius of the town. The Domesday Book of 1086 records that Shaftesbury’s St Mary’s Church held 20 hides (each around 120 acres) at ‘Handley’ with 30 villagers and 15 smallholders providing substantial revenue to the Abbey. On Thomas Aldwell’s 1618 map, the village is shown as ‘Hanley’ with a single main street and St Mary’s Church at the north end. St Mary’s dates from the 14th century, but its 12th-century font and a pillar capital re-used as a stoup (small basin for holy water) are relics of an earlier building. The nave, north aisle and west tower were rebuilt in 1877. All survived the devastating fire of 1892 which destroyed the village, leaving nearly 200 people homeless and destitute.

Many ancient north-south tracks connected various settlements in Wiltshire’s rivers Ebble and Nadder valleys with Cranborne Chase villages. On parts of this fine walk, with far-reaching views, we follow sections of two of these medieval roads which are still in use today, albeit mostly for pleasure and exercise, by walkers, horse riders and, where permitted, cyclists.

The lych gate at St Mary's from where the walk starts. (Image: Edward Griffiths)

The Walk

1. Entering through the lychgate, follow the path past St Mary’s porch to the footpath-arrowed gateway. Through onto the farm track, cross into the grass track with left field fence and right hedge. At the far-right corner gap, go through into the next field. Turn left along the left hedge and continue through the gateway into the second field’s corner. Now, walk diagonally down the field to the left hedge’s gap. Through, follow the right fence across the field to the roadside hedge’s footpath-signed gateway. Through, turn left along the lane. In 200 yards, take the left bridleway-signed enclosed track, slowly descending with ancient beech trees and wide-apart banks. In ¼ mile, emerge into an open area and lane T-junction. Opposite is a footpath-signed stile, a backward bridleway-sign and two bridleway-arrows. Turn right.

2. This lane is part of the medieval road from Berwick St John in Wiltshire which entered Dorset in Chase Wood and continued to Sixpenny Handley and Cranborne. It still appears on O.S. maps as tracks, bridleways and minor roads. Keep straight on past left farm cottages and farm buildings with right woodland. Go through the facing gate onto the fenced track. This turns right into a field but continue straight along the green track for 100 yards to the left footpath-stile. Climb over into the large field’s left corner. This is Handley Common. Don’t follow the fence but bear slightly-right (south-west) down the field to the facing fence’s footpath-arrowed half-gate. Through, continue straight down the field to the next fence’s footpath half-gate. Through maintaining the same direction, ascend to the fence’s footpath-stile. Over, turn right along the fenced grass track.

3. In 50 yards, go over the left footpath-stile where the arrow points half-right (south-west again) across the field. Now, if the field isn’t planted, cross as indicated by the arrow to the visible three-way footpath-stile on Chase Wood’s edge. If it is planted with cereal crops or anything else, with no clear path, turn right along the right fence/hedge and, into the corner, turn left along Chase Wood’s edge. Either way, on reaching the three-way footpath-stile, follow the woods’ outside edge footpath to the facing fence’s footpath-stile. Over, continue to the next fence’s gap. Through, continue to another footpath-stile. Over, continue to the far-right corner footpath-stile and continue to the B3081 road-stile, footpath-signed back and bridleway-signed across. Cross carefully to the opposite track.

4. This is the medieval road from Berwick St John, coming straight through Chase Woods and continuing to Chapel Down Farm, Gussage Hill, Harley Down, All Hallows Farm and Wimborne St Giles. Continue past the gated field’s stables and into the bridleway-arrowed path with left field and right trees. Past another bridleway-arrow, continue along the tree ‘tunnel’. Emerging into a clearing with multiple gateways, the wider hedged track going straight on is the medieval road. We now leave it. Take the centre of three left gateways, bridleway arrowed. Through, turn right up the green track along the right hedge. In ½ mile, go through the facing gate into a crossing point. Right and straight on is the ‘Jubilee Trail’ signposted lane but take the left bridleway-signed hedged path.

Carved wooden pilasters on the butcher's shop, destroyed in the 1892 fire and rebuilt in 1896. (Image: Edward Griffiths)

5. In ¼ mile, take the right footpath-gap through the high hedge and turn left along the green path. Cross the double field, following overhead electric cables. Reaching the far hedge, bear left along the right hedge to the corner un-arrowed stile. Over, continue along the right hedge to the corner stile (painted arrow on metal post). Over, continue under the overhead wires up the long field to the end hedge’s stile. Over, cross the gated track into the fence-enclosed grass track. Walk up and over to the hedge footpath-gap. Through onto Back Lane, cross into the footpath-signed hedged path. Walk up, passing between Littlefield Lane’s garden walls and cottages and into Sixpenny Handley High Street. Turn left, passing right old Post Office and Stores, left old Grocers Shop and Clarke & Sons family butchers. After the devastating fire of 1892, the butcher’s shop was rebuilt with ornate tiles and carved wooden pilasters. Continue up High Street back to St Mary’s where you started.

St Mary's tower and porch, the latter decorated for a wedding. (Image: Edward Griffiths)