Walking in Dorset

Guidebook of circular walks in Dorset, between 5 and 12 miles in a rich variety of scenery. Spectacular coastline, lovely downs and fine pubs. Sections cover East Dorset, the Stour and Frome, Purbeck and South Dorset, West Dorset. 39 routes plus details of Dorset’s long-distance trails.

The Making of the English Landscape: Dorset, Christopher Taylor (Hodder & Stoughton 1970). More than worth the hunt in libraries and second hand bookshops, this is a learned and highly readable discourse on man’s impact on the post glacial landscape of the county.

The Faces of Britain: English Downland, H.J.Massingham (Batsford 1936) One of those myriad excellent books which are researched at great length, written, published and never re-issued, whilst mindless hyped pulp goes on and on. This has an excellent chapter on Dorset and is an informative and enjoyable discourse on England’s chalk country.

The Making of the English Landscape, Professor W.G.Hoskins (Hodder & Stoughton 1955, also Penguin 1985).

The Place-Names of Dorset (English Place Name Society/Cambridge University Press 1977, School of English Studies, The University of Nottingham). Published in several volumes.

Dorset Place Names - their origins and meanings, A.D.Mills (Roy Gasson Associates, 1968, 18 Ashdene Close, Wimborne, BH21 1TQ). An endlessly fascinating reference work - a distillation of above.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names, Eilert Ekwall (OUP).

Bound to the Soil - A Social History of Dorset 1750-1918, Barbara Kerr (John Baker 1968). Examines selected parishes in the county in great detail. To put the Tolpuddle Martyrs into perspective I very much recommend her chapter on the Blackmore Vale and agricultural riots of 1830.

Old Dorset, M.B.Weinstock (David & Charles 1967). A highly readable discourse on random aspects of the county’s history from the middle of the eighteenth century onwards.

Wildlife Walks of Britain, Valerie Russell (Grafton). This details two such in the county, both on Purbeck, at Studland and Kimmeridge. There is a lot of good information as to what can be discovered at these sites.

The Hardy Guides, Harmann Lea (Penguin 1986 - two volumes). Lea was a pioneering photographer and the touring companion of Hardy. This is a posthumous gathering of his writings and photographs.

Thomas Hardy’s England, Jo Draper, edited and introduced by John Fowles (Jonathan Cape 1984). Fine text remarkably illustrated with Lea’s original photographs taken between 1880 and 1910, using live models evoking the early nineteenth century.

Hardy’s Wessex Location, F.P.Pitfield (Dorset Publishing Company). There seems to be a sizeable industry in producing books on Hardy’s locations; I have included this one because it includes some worthwhile recent research and is laid out in such a way as to appeal to the idle browser as much as to the intense expert.

The Landscape of Thomas Hardy, Denys Kay Robinson (Webb and Bower, 9 Colleton Crescent, Exeter EX2 4BY). With informative, well researched text, sketch maps and fine photographs by Simon McBride, this succeeds both as a reference book and a coffee-table book.

Dorset from the Air, Christopher Chaplin (The Dovecot Press, Wimborne). Informative and attractive.

Dorset, Frank R.Heath (Methuen 1905 & 1908). Part of “The Little Guides” series - fascinating as a guide to the county at the time.

The Dorset Village Book, Harry Ashley (Countryside Books, first published 1984 and several times since).

A Brief History of Dorset, Cecil N.Cullingford (Phillimore 1980). Informative, well illustrated and highly readable - recommended.

Dorset - City and County History Series, J.H.Bettey (David & Charles).

Unknown Dorset, Donald Maxwell (Bodley Head 1927). The author has written “unknown” counties. It is a pleasant portrait of the county between the wars.

Dorset - “The King’s England” series, Arthur Mee (Hodder and Stoughton 1939). A good guidebook of its day.

Hidden Dorset, various contributors (Dorset Federation of Women’s Institutes and Countryside Books). A distillation of long memories county-wide - a delight.

Dorset Curiosities, George Osborn (Dovecot Press). Eccentric and fascinating.

Dorset Villages, Roland Gant (Robert Hale 1980). A personal view, well researched and written.

Wessex Has Their Bones, Douglas Greenwood (Gasson Associates, 18 Ashdene Close, Wimborne BH21 1TQ). A necrophile’s Who’s Who to the county - it contains details of the resting places of a great number of notables. It is well worth checking to see if your walk takes you past any.

Literary Dorset, Rodney Legg (Dorset Publishing Company, North Street, Wincanton, Somerset BA9 9AT). A miniature encyclopedia of authors and locations from a prolific and popular local author.

The Dorset and Somerset Rebellion, K.Merle Chatsfield (Dorset Publishing Company). A fine pocket-sized history of local events of the ill-fated 1685 Monmouth rebellion against the unpopular James II.

A Dorset Camera, David Burnett (Dovecot Press). My walks take you past a number of spots shown, before 1914; this is a fascinating historical document and contains some superb photographs.

The Wild Flowers of Dorset, Stuart Roberts - no relation (Dovecot Press). Well researched and presented.

The Stour Valley Path, Edward R.Griffiths (Green Fields Books, 13 Dalewood Avenue, Bear Cross, Bournemouth BH11 9NR). Who can fail to like a guidebook that introduces itself by claiming that it “evokes the spirit of English Arcadia”?

Moonfleet, J.Meade Falkner. A rattling good tale, perhaps too much used as a school text.

The French Lieutenant’s Woman, John Fowles. This is a superb novel which can scarcely be recommended too highly. It was written and largely set in Lyme Regis. The film (starring Jeremy Irons and Merryl Streep) was largely shot in the town as well.