All Places Dynamic Dorchester

Walking

Walk

Dorchester is a compact Market town, nowhere is more than a 20 minute or so walk from the town centre so it is perfect to visit without a car or to park in one place and then explore on foot for the day.

We have so many walking trails too to help you navigate, learn about and enjoy our town. Scroll down to find links to self guided and guided walks.

The Dorchester walking leaflet is available to pick up from the Tourist Information Point in Shire Hall Museum. The leaflet has four short walks to follow in the town centre and three more, longer walks that take in the surrounding area. It can be downloaded and printed at home using the link below.

We have a brilliant independent outdoor shop in Dorchester if you are in the market for some new walking gear!

Enjoy exploring our town.

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Download the Dorchester Walking Leaflet

Walks in and around Dorchester

Join Dorchester’s award-winning Town Crier Alistair Chisolm as he takes you on a tour of Dorchester.

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Dorchester Town Crier

A Dorchester Trundle with the Town Crier

Starting in Martinstown this superb walk climbs up to the ridge for fantastic views and one of the UK’s most interesting Bronze Age cemeteries. - Barrow Circle – 5.5 miles

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Martinstown

Barrow Circle Walk – 5.5 miles

The “Discover Dorchester” route is the perfect way to take in great views, enjoy the inviting ambiance of the town, and visit a host of notable attractions along the way.

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Roman Town House view

Discover Historical Dorchester walk

Discover Dorchester’s grisly history – Judge Jeffreys and the Bloody Assize, ghosts that haunt the taverns and the alleyways.

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Dorchester-ghost-walk-home

Dorchester Ghost Walks

Discover the stories behind some of Dorchester's fascinating buildings

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Hidden Histories Walk

Dorchester Hidden Histories Walk

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.

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Town Pump and Corn Exchange

Dorchester Town Trail Walk – 2 miles

Teresa Ridout of Dorset Life takes us on a tour of the village which is now a leafy suburb of Dorchester

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Fordington St George Church

Fordington: a short walk

If you fancy doing a less strenuous walk and skirt around the edge of Maiden Castle, then this is the walk for you - Maiden Castle & Clandon Barrow – 3 miles

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Maiden Castle Dorchester.

Maiden Castle & Clandon Barrow walk

The best way to explore Hardy’s Mellstock is to follow this gentle four mile walk which starts at Kingston Maurward, visits both Higher and Lower Bockhampton, and ends at Stinsford Church.

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St Michaels Church Stinsford

Mellstock Poems Walk

Slightly out of town – but well worth a visit, this walk starts in the village of Portesham.

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Portesham Stone Circles

Stones & Circles walk – 7 miles

This walk starts from Maiden Castle car park and enjoys some spectacular views south to the Ridgeway and north over Dorchester and far into the Dorset countryside.

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Maiden Castle

The Dorset Walk – Maiden Castle and Martinstown

A walk around Thomas Hardy country near Dorchester.

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Hardy Cottage and Thorncombe Woods walk

Thomas Hardy walk

Hardy’s Birthplace Visitor Centre / Roman Road / Black Heath / Rushy Pond / Hardy’s Cottage

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Thorncombe Woods - Walk 1

Thorncombe Wood Walkabout 1

Thorncombe Wood / Puddletown Forest / Duddle Heath / Black Heath

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Ponies Thorncombe Woods

Thorncombe Wood Walkabout 2

An easy walk from Dorchester visiting Stinsford and its church, the resting home of Hardy's heart and his two wives.

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Hardys Cottage

Walk to Hardys Cottage

Wide and sweeping coastal views are combined with quiet valleys on this splendid walk.

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St Peters Church - Winterbourne Came

West Dorset Walks – Dorchester to Weymouth Trail

Bubb Down and the Melburys

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Thorncombe Wood

Woodlanders Walk