This 2 mile walk around Dorchester starts at the monument known as the Town Pump in South Street and takes in some of Dorchester’s points of interest including Brewery Square and Maumbury Rings.
The walk follows footpaths around the town and apart from needing to take care of traffic on some busy roads the walk is very easy and provides a few places to stop off on the way including Borough Gardens.
A nice easy walk where you can perhaps grab a coffee or a bite to eat half way round and then continue taking in the delights of Dorchester.
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The Town Pump to the Borough Gardens
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Make your way to the the Town Pump which is a central point in Dorchester – located next to Dorchesters Corn Exchange and the impressive clock tower on South Street (pedestrians only) at the junction with High East Street. Head along South Street away from the pump obelisk and look for a small arched path way to the right called Antelope Walk. Turn right here.
Half way up Antelope Walk you will find the Old Oak Room which is reputed to be the room where Judge Jeffreys held his infamous Bloody Assize of 1685 of the 312 rebels who supported the Duke of Monmouths attempt to seize the crown. Cross the road at the end of the Walk and go straight along Princes Street. Half way along on the left you will see the old hospital, a Victorian building now converted into flats, and the mock Roman fountain erected in 2003 near where a Roman aqueduct brought water into the town. At the end of Princes Street look for some red gates on the left that lead into the Borough Gardens.
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Through the Park
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Go through the gates and enter the gardens. Take the left hand path and keep left of the children’s playground. On the right you may also notice a small outdoor gym. Walk around and past the band stand and head for the clock tower, ahead on the right. Walk past the tower which was built in 1905 and head for a small red gate that leads out of the park onto Cornwall Road. Turn left and walk towards the junction. Cross this junction and head along Maumbury Road until you reach Fairfield Road on the left.
Turn left here with the long stay car park on your right. Look for the Fairfield Market on your left which has been held here since the 19th Century. At the end of the road turn right and walk along Weymouth Avenue with the car park and later a skateboard park on you right. Just after the police station on your left you will see the metal gate leading into Maumbury Rings.
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Maumbury Rings to the Bewery
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Go through the gate and walk to the left where there is an information board and the entrance into the amphitheatre. The site was originally constructed as a Neolithic henge some 4,500 years ago. The Romans then turned the site into an amphitheatre by lowering the centre and raising the banks. During the Civil War the Parliamentarians fortified the site with cannons. Today outdoor performances once again take place here. Leave the site through the same gate and head back down Weymouth Avenue past the police station back towards the towards the town. You will shortly pass the imposing brick built buildings of the Thomas Hardy Brewery of Eldridge Pope on the right.
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Past the Pillar Box to the Almshouses
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Carry on down the road towards the junction. You want to go straight ahead where you will see a Cenotaph on the other side of the road. To do so turn right and then left crossing two roads with traffic light crossings. When you reach the other side look for the red Victorian pillar box designed by Penfold in 1866, the first penny black stamp was designed in 1840. The adjacent Portland stone Cenotaph was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1921. Carry on down South Street and when you reach the Hardye Arcade on the right look on the opposite side of the road where you will see the Barnes and Hardy plaques on the wall. Further down the road on the right is the Nappers Mite which is now a restaurant. This was built as almshouses by Sir Robert Napper shortly after the Dorchester great fire of 1613.
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The Mayor of Casterbridge House
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Last of all on this trail around the town is The Mayor of Casterbridge’s house, marked with a plaque, which is currently a branch of Barclays Bank on the right hand side of South Street. Carry on down the street until you arrive back at the the Town Pump
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Dorchester has a large selection of quality places to eat and drink to stop for refreshments along the way.
The nearest cafes to the suggested starting point are Costa Coffee opposite the town pump and Walnut Grove and Potters Cafe, both in Durngate Street.
