Destination: North Dorset Trailway
Date: 8th April 2021
Distance: 19.97 Miles
Duration: 3 hours 38 minutes (including breaks)
Weather: 8°C sunny intervals
We arranged to meet at 1 30pm as usual but with bikes loaded onto cars ready to drive in convoy to Sturminster Newton to cycle along the North Dorset Trailway from Sturminster Newton to Blandford Forum and back, with a small detour to Child Okeford.
Station Road Pay and Display Car Park, Barnes Close is the nearest car park to the entrance of the Trailway in Sturminster Newton. We parked our cars and armed with change made our way to the ticket machine, expecting to have to pay £3 to £4 each. Charges apply from 9am until 3pm, and as it was 2pm we only had to pay 70p each for an hours parking. The tickets were then valid until 9am the following day.
We unloaded our bikes from our cars and prepared them for the journey, various saddle and crossbar bags, a gel seat cover, an action camera, snacks and water bottles were loaded onto our "steeds" before we finally set off on our cycle ride, forty minutes after having left Templecombe.
Our ride coincided with the school Easter Holidays, various walkers, joggers, cyclists, dogs and families were out making the most of the good weather at the beginning of our trip, although further away from town the Trailway was not so busy. (The above photo was taken at approx 6pm after we had finished our ride, when it was much quieter.)
It wasn't long before we cycled over the River Stour for the first of several times today.
Just before Shillingstone at the top of Newman's Drove there used to be a small herd of goats at Bere Marsh Farm, we were disappointed to find they had disappeared. Apparently the Countryside Restoration Trust bought the farm in 2020. Countryside Restoration Trust Their aim is for the farm to become a "national showcase for its holistic fusion of sustainable, traditional farming methods, habitat restoration and a dedicated education programmed focused around the importance of food provenance." Lamenting the loss of the herd of goats, I wondered if any of Billy Goat Gruff's companions, mentioned in a previous post Goats and Shadows, originated from Bere Marsh Farm?
At the end of Newman's Drove we turned left leaving the Trailway behind and cycled over the Stour to Child Okeford. We continued until the end of Station Road before returning back to the Trailway. With several miles still to ride we decided not to cycle around the whole of the village, we'll save that for another day.
Rejoining the Trailway at Bere Marsh it did not take us long to cover the short distance to Shillingstone Train Station. North Dorset Railway Previously the station platform was part of the Trailway, this however has now been blocked off and the Trailway path rerouted lower down behind the platform, presumably this work was carried out to stop people from entering the station without paying.
At Gains Cross we turned left onto Hodway Lane and immediately right to take us back onto the trailway. The video clip below shows the beautiful views from the bridleway across to Hod Hill. A right turn at the fingerpost takes you to Blandford Forest.
From Gains Cross it wasn't long before we met the River Stour again, crossing it for the third time on our bike ride so far.
On the outskirts of Stourpaine we cycled past the Village Hall and turned right at the junction of Havelins with Manor Road. We paused near the end of Manor Road to admire a beautiful Lychgate at the entrance to Holy Trinity church, both are Grade II Listed. We also chatted to a new local resident busy fixing fencing to his gate to prevent his two dogs from escaping onto the road. Had we spent time in the graveyard and church we may have come across a late 17th century memorial dedicated to Rev John Straight, which was erected whilst he was still alive! Dorset Life - Stourpaine.
On our approach to Blandford Forum not far from Stourpaine we looked down onto the A350 before eventually cycling under it and up into Blandford. The following photo shows traffic joining the A357 from the A350, Durweston is pictured in the background
Our journey south along the North Dorset Trailway finished at Station Court Car Park at the top of Damory Court Street in Blandford Forum. We then crossed Wimborne Road cycled through Marks & Spencer's car park and sat on bench at Langton Meadows overlooking the River Stour and on the opposite bank, Stour Meadows.
Refreshed it was time to head back the way we came cycling first over the Wimborne Road/Damory Court Street Junction.
Just as we were approaching Station Car Park and the Blandford entrance to the North Dorset Trailway my chain came off. Prior to DK making adjustments and repairs to my bike a few weeks ago this was a regular weekly occurrence, so it came as a surprise when it happened today. New bike sprockets have now arrived and hopefully once they and the new bike chain have been fitted I'll no longer have any problems. Fingers crossed.
With my action camera and rear view mirror standing proud of my handlebars, JC came to my assistance and propped up the front of my upturned bike whilst I remounted the chain. My hands covered in oil we cycled through the carpark and set off along the Trailway for our return leg.
We cycled back through Stourpaine over the river Stour and stopped on our approach to Shillingstone to admire the Big Yellow Bus Garden, a Community Health and Wellbeing Space . Big Yellow Garden Project Facebook Page We could see some wonderful new willow structures, a pond, various seedlings and many other projects.
Between Shillingstone and Surminster Newton we spotted a small group of trees, their roots exposed by floodwater. We turned round to get a closer look and also to take some photos. JC is often inspired by patterns and I'm looking forward to seeing how these roots will manifest themselves in a future piece of art work.
We arrived back in Sturminster at 5 40pm, the car park practically empty. There were only three cars left, two of which were our own. The next twenty minutes were spent removing any loose items from our bikes and placing these in our cars and then loading and securing our bikes onto our cars. We drove back into Templecombe five hours after we had originally set off, full of happy memories.
The Trailway is a wonderful facility "providing a safe route for walkers, runners, cyclists, equestrians and people with mobility scooters." North Dorset Trailway It would be wonderful if it could be extended further north to link Wincanton at the northern edge of the Blackmore Vale with Blandford Forum in the south.
Now that lockdown restrictions have eased slightly it was great to be able to travel further afield and cycle around another part of the Blackmore Vale. We plan to explore more of the southern reaches of the Blackmore Vale again in the near future.
I expected the video taken when your chain misaligned to be muted but that turned out to be unnecessary.
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