Distance 4.7 miles (7.5 km)
Classification Easy
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Begins Spread Eagle Hill car park
OS grid reference ST886187
Walk in a nutshell
A quick circuit through gorgeous countryside that will forever be associated with Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels. It does include some steeply sloping paths and uneven surfaces, which need to be taken carefully when wet.
Why it's special
Thomas Hardy's enchantment with this part of Dorset is understandable. The views are simply stunning, with fields and meadows alive with butterflies and orchids, making it a site of special scientific (as well as literary) interest.
Keep your eyes peeled for
Cranborne Chase, just to the east as you begin the walk, was the basis for the "Chase" in Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Just north of Melbury Beacon is Shaftesbury, which becomes "Shaston" in the same work. If you are out on the southern stretch below Compton Down one June or July evening, you may be treated to a glorious display of glow-worms.
Recover afterwards
Breakfasts, lunches, teas and cakes are available at Compton Abbas Airfield. A short walk south to Fontmell Magna, there's the Fontmell pub. Or a 20-minute drive to Marnhull will bring you to the lovely Blackmore Vale Inn.
If it's tipping down
A half-hour drive to Dorchester takes you to the cottage where Hardy was born and wrote his early novels, as well as Max Gate, which he designed and lived in. The Dorset County Museum has an eclectic collection from dinosaur fossils to a recreation of Hardy's study.
How to get there
Gillingham train station is 8 miles from Fontmell. The 182 bus from Shaftesbury stops at Compton Abbas and Fontmell Magna, except on Sundays.
Step by step
1 Turn left out of Spread Eagle Hill car park and follow the road north towards Shaftesbury for about 300m.
2 Walk through the gate and continue straight on, following the fence line towards Melbury Beacon. Drop down into the saddle and continue straight on up Melbury Hill.
3 Once on the Beacon take in the stunning 360-degree view of the Blackmore Vale, Vale of Wardour and Shaftesbury.
4 From the Beacon head left over the stile, taking a more southerly route back down, keeping the fence to your left as you descend.
5 Head along the top of Compton Down in a southerly direction keeping the fence on your left at all times.
6 Step over a stile (hidden within the thick hedge) and step down on to the track.
7 Turn left up the track in a westerly direction which will bring you back to the car park.
8 Once back at the car park, you can cut the walk short or continue on to Fontmell Down (1 mile from here).
9 Head straight out across the downs and cross over the cross dyke (a bank and ditch).
10 Turn left and walk through the gate. Head left, back up Fontmell Down, in the direction of the main Shaftesbury/Blandford Road.
11 Finally you will come to a small wooden pedestrian gate on your left. Go through the gate and follow the path along the road which will eventually bring you back to the car park.
