Blandford Forest

Sat 6 Dec ‘25. DH, RW, PCL, DL, JB, CH, Scrumpy & Albus

The rain we dodged last weekend had certainly returned in bucket loads during the week and so with the ground damp all around the local counties I decided a walk on good forest tracks would be our best option today, it was just a question of which and where. A good trawl over the green patches on the OS map to the south of our 30 minute area, I identified a large area of woodland in which we have not previously walked south of Sturminster Newton. Combined with the knowledge of a recently opened cafe in the area, the RV was set for the Black Cat cafe just off of the A357 near Shillingstone, with the walk into the hills on the south side of the road, a large area of mixed woodland forming just a part of Blandford Forest.

Richard arrived just a couple of minutes after the Wincanton car, despite taking a lengthy detour around Northern Dorset and once we were all sorted out we headed out of the car park around 08:40, straight across the main road and around a metal barrier onto a woodland track. The climb started immediately and there was plenty of evidence of the heavy rains of the previous few hours by the fallen leaves swept aside to allow the torrents of water to escape down the hill. It would appear that we were unknowingly participating in a Picture Trek, Countryside Activity Trail as we spotted the first sign on a nearby fence post. The wood was mainly deciduous and according to the Forestry Commision website here around 50% of it is Beech.

Once the two dogs were off the leads they spotted some of the local wildlife crossing the track and immediately ran up the slope in pursuit. Thankfully the squirrel and pheasant were too quick for them both who gave up the chase without too much of a care. The same can’t be said for the six of us (racing up the hill that is) , as we engaged a low gear and started the steady climb. As we gained height we could see the valley below through the trees but not really well enough to see the high levels of the River Stour which we had crossed on the way down. Taking it slow and steady the pathway just kept going up and up, although Chris thought he saw the top at one point, only to be disappointed when we reached another false summit.

Our path started looping to the left as we crossed a large open area. The views north east across towards the area of Cranborne Chase north of Blandford were stunning especially as we all expected to be walking in cloud or even rain today. We skirted around the top of the large valley of Hillcombe Bottom and just before we exited the woods we came across a large wooden structure, which with a large veranda and notice boards looked like a forest school of some sort. John was especially keen to see what it was all about as he works with many Dorset schoolchildren on numerous outdoor activities. On closure inspection it appears to belong to The Dorset Coppice Group, a volunteer organisation who aim to promote coppicing and its products and service, and preserve the native woodlands.

On the far end of the building, a sign identified it as a Living Classroom, which was opened by HRH Princess Anne in 2007 and is a base from which the volunteers can work with schools and local communities to develop environmental projects. The classroom is equipped with toilets, water and mains power and they also harvest rain water and produce much of their own electricity through solar generation – a truly ‘living’ and sustainable building.