Dorset walk featuring Edmondsham House and Cranborne Castle

Park in the field behind the house and visit the gardens before or after this walk. Grade II listed Edmondsham House was built in 1589, with the south-east and north-west wings added in the early-18th century, so it’s a combination of Tudor and Georgian architecture.

Edmondsham Estate’s extensive grounds, fields and woodland contain many stately ancient oaks, sycamores and beech trees, and this fine walk, on estate tracks and permissive paths, takes you through the woods to explore a Norman castle.

Cranborne Castle's central 'motte'

Cranborne Castle is a motte and bailey type introduced by the Normans and commonly built and occupied from the 11th to the 13th centuries before being superseded by other castle designs.

They comprised a large conical mound, the motte, surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower.

An embanked enclosure, the bailey, adjoined the motte. Built in towns, villages and open countryside, these garrison forts dominated their immediate locality. On the summit of Castle Hill, Cranborne Castle overlooks the valley of the River Crane.

The motte measures 180ft diameter by 28ft high with a surrounding partially buried ditch with an outer rampart bank on two sides and a crescent shaped bailey 25ft high on the east. The 4ft high mound on top of the motte was raised by LDG Tregonwell (1758–1832), a key figure in the early development of Bournemouth, over the final resting place of his two favourite horses.

The village pump house at the start of the walk

The Walk

1 The Village Pump House was built in 1931 over the pump’s cast-iron mechanism and flywheel. The spout is set into a stone inscribed and dated ‘1884’. To begin, take the bridleway track left of the Pump House and walk up the track past left No.26. Note that the track bed exhibits ancient river-rolled pebbles, a surface feature of the geology at many sites in the area, including Penbury Knoll, Boveridge Heath and Burwood. Soon, there are hay meadows outside the trees bordering the track and, at opposing gates, there are picturesque views of tree covered valleys on both sides. As you stroll up the track, you may hear blackbirds, robins, chaffinches, wood pigeons, chiffchaffs and the sweet song of dunnocks. At a deep right wood, an Edmondsham Estate Permissive Path (EP) arrowed gate/stile leads onto a fine stroll but only ‘there and back’ as it ends at the estate’s boundary. So, keep straight on, passing opposing gates into hay meadows.

2 Up to the right bend which only leads to Keeper’s Cottage, the facing EP-gate opens onto a field path leading to the Old Mill on the River Crane. But go left at the bridleway and EP post onto the firm surface and greener track of unmarked Munro Drive. Continue into mixed deciduous woodland. Over the top of the rise, pass two conveniently felled trunk/seats left and continue around a right sweeping bend. Just before the EP-gate/stile on the left sweeping bend, the right fork path goes down to the more difficult, rutted and puddled parallel bridleway called Mill Lane. Fortunately, we’re staying up on Munro Drive. Over the stile, pass the nearby left two-way EP post. The left fork will be your return route after visiting Cranborne Castle and returning here.

3 So, keep straight on, grassier now, with some old, coppiced hazel either side. Pass a left reverse-fork and a right fence-gate into another hay meadow. Ignore any tempting left-side tracks or paths which might possibly lead to your return track. They don’t! Continue slowly upwards, passing a left side open wood, a deer-fenced young pine plantation and more left tracks before our track gets steeper under a huge beech and swings right and left with a steep drop, possibly an old quarry, left. Up into an open bracken field, the track forks at a two-way signpost. Left is signed ‘Road and ByWay 17’ but take the right ‘Castle Hill’ right-swinging green path past a left ‘Permissive Path’ post, then swinging left at a right ‘Permissive Path’ post above the castle ditch and bank right. Walk to Cranborne Castle information boards, from where you can explore the castle’s banks, ditches and central mound at will.

Tall stately oaks along Munro Drive

4 After exploring, return past the information boards, cross the bracken field back onto Munro Drive. Meander for about ¼ mile, more downhill than uphill this time, back to the EP-arrowed fork before the EP-gate/stile from earlier. Now, double-back right onto the grassy track, meander past a right grass track, and descend into the narrowing path with coppiced hazel and mixed deciduous trees to a fork with a felled tree-stump on the right. Go left at the EP post and follow the rising path, steeply, then meandering past a massive right beech and several tall oaks. Now, quite near the wood’s edge with fields outside right, descend slowly into a grass/bracken path. At the next fork with a gate right, go left, rising to a hand-railed ditch. Over, continue to the EP fence-stile.

5 Over this, turn right down parkland, under the huge oaks near the right fence, to the facing corner’s un-arrowed gateway-stile. Through, bear ¼-left down the field, maybe with a faint path, towards the brick-house’s gable end ahead. But, on passing a group of right trees, swing ¼-right down to the roadside fence’s EP stile/gate. Over onto the road, turn left and walk through the village, first passing the right Village Hall and phone box ‘library’. Continue up past a pretty left cottage and the right ‘Old Rectory’ drive, then left Old Orchard bungalows and right Grade II listed early-Georgian ‘Old Farm House’. Up past the left stone-pillared postbox, see the Village Pump House up ahead where you started.

Map of the route (Image: Supplied)

Compass Points

Distance: 3 miles/4.75 km

Start: Lay-by at Edmondsham’s Village Pump in Village Road on Verwood road east of Edmondsham House (Grid Ref: SU066114)

Map: OS Landranger Sheet 195

Time: 2 hours

Exertion: Moderate. Estate tracks and woodland footpaths

Public Transport: None

Dogs: Edmondsham House, Estate, Park and Farm are privately owned. No dogs are allowed.

Refreshments: Cranborne Manor Garden Centre teashop for morning coffee, light lunches and cream teas