Stage 6 - Wessex Ridgeway - Iwerne Courtney to Ludwell - 10th May 2025
- John Tippetts
- May 20
- 7 min read
Updated: 15 hours ago
Official Stage Statistics
Route distance – 12.88 miles
Total ascent – 1665 feet
Highest point – 909 feet
Logistics
Drive to Iwerne Courtney and park car
Walk to Win Green & extend to Ludwell
Catch 29 bus to Shaftesbury - 16:10
Get taxi to Iwerne Courtney - Taxi4You Mere - 07598 108317 - £25
Drive to The Talbot Iwerne Minster DT11 8QN & stay overnight - £90
My Walk
Today’s walk would start from Iwerne Courtney with a gentle climb through fields to 500 feet, pass through the most amazing display of bluebells in Ashmore Wood and continue on to Ashmore, the highest village on Dorset. Beyond Ashmore I’d be leaving Dorset and entering Wiltshire, heading for the pretty village of Tollard Royal. Beyond Tollard Royal the path would do a hairpin bend and take me to the top of Win Green, the highest point in Cranborne Chase. From Win Green I’d follow the Wessex Ridgeway down to the village of Ludwell where I’d finish this stage.
The Talbot in Iwerne Minster where I’d stayed the previous night had only been taken over by the new owners a few weeks before my stay, so I was able to forgive the very tired room. As a pub it had a great atmosphere and the locals really like the new management. Cooked breakfast was small but tasty. It also came with 1 slice of toast. When asked if I wanted tea or coffee I went for coffee. I knew from the time of booking that breakfast would be extra but when I got the bill I couldn’t believe that I was charged separately for my coffee! I’m just glad I didn’t ask for a 2nd cup or even some more toast!! Never as a guest in a pub or hotel have I been asked to pay extra for a hot drink at breakfast – it’s part of the deal surely. I know that I can be very curmudgeonly and did take this up with the owner who promised to review this policy. You wouldn’t have this issue in a Premier Inn but the closest one was in Poole, 20 miles away!!
Anyway, enough of all this negative stuff. Today was yet another perfect spring day for walking, without a cloud in the sky. I drove the short distance from the Talbot to Iwerne Courtney and parked my car. I walked through the village, crossed the main road into a field and began the gentle climb up Preston Hill. Every so often I looked back at the fabulous views of Hambledon Hill.
The next few miles were relatively flat and before I knew it I’d reached Ashmore Wood. I’d been treated to many displays of bluebells so far on the Wessex Ridgeway but this was the best – absolutely gorgeous.
After Ashmore Wood the path continued for another mile along a well defined track into the picture perfect village of Ashmore. At over 700 feet, the village boasts being the highest in Dorset. About ¼ mile from the village centre I came to a very important Wessex Ridgeway fingerpost, one of only a handful I encountered since leaving Lyme Regis. From looking at GPS data it looks like the fingerpost was placed bang on the Dorset – Wiltshire county boundary. Its fingerboard indicates that Lyme Regis is 62 miles (100 km). The post also has the inscription “First Opened By Priscilla Houstoun 1994”. Priscilla Houstoun was a member of the Ramblers Association who first designed the trail in the 1980s. The Dorset section was officially opened in 1994.
A couple of miles and a gentle descent further on, I entered the village of Tollard Royal, another very pretty village with a church, pond, pub, war memorial and so much more, including an old phone box named the “Tolllard Tardis”! The Tardis houses a defibrillator, book swap and local information. Outside it has a large OS map of the local area. The village is situated within Cranborne Chase. I’d hear a lot about Cranborne Chase on my walks but before I started I never really knew what it was. Taken from the official website, “Cranborne Chase is a National Landscape, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and covers 380 square miles of countryside, overlapping the boundaries of Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset……………………. The primary purpose of the National Landscape designation is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area – now and for future generations.” .
The path took a bit of a hairpin bend in Tollard Royal and continued in a valley called Ashcombe Bottom. Part of this section is on the 1,134 acre Ashcombe Estate which was bought by Madonna and her then husband Guy Ritchie in 2001. As part of their divorce settlement in 2008, Ritchie kept the estate and he and his family now live there. He has since carried out carried out many changes linked primarily to the high end leisure industry, so if you have very deep pockets you can stay on the estate for a shooting weekend! The fact that the website doesn’t publish anything so vulgar as prices conjures up the old adage “If you have to ask the price you probably can’t afford it!”. https://www.ashcombeestate.com/
The estate has numerous public rights of way, which explains why the Wessex Ridgeway is able to pass through the estate. It also has a 400-year-old Quaker burial ground which Quakers still have access to. At the end of the valley, the path climbed very steeply up to the highlight of the day – Win Green.
Win Green is the highest point in the Cranborne Chase at over 900 feet and covering 64 acres. It provides panoramic views from the Isle of Wight and Purbeck Hills to Blackmore Vale and Salisbury Plain. It’s an SSSI and is crowned by beech trees growing on a Bronze Age bowl barrow with a distinctive ridge around the edge. This clump of trees is visible for miles around. A few years ago grazing was reintroduced which has resulted in an increase in the number of flowers. Today it is managed by the National Trust. I felt so lucky to be here on such a perfect day.
Win Green is the point at which the Wessex Ridgeway meets the Cranborne Droves Way. I had 2 options to reach The Ridgeway at Overton Hill; either continue along the Wessex Ridgeway or turn right along the Cranborne Droves Way to Salisbury and then the Sarsen Way from Salisbury to Overton Hill. I’d decided from the outset of this challenge that I’d go via Salisbury, so tomorrow I’d come back here and head along the Cranborne Droves Way.
For today, my plan was to continue along the Wessex Ridgeway for a couple of miles to the main road in Ludwell where I’d be able to catch a bus to Shaftesbury and from there a taxi back to my car in Iwerne Courtney. Needless to say, I'll come back in due course to complete the whole of the Wessex Ridgeway!
The walk down from Win Green to Ludwell saw a drop in height of 500 feet and continuing panoramic views. Towards the end in Ludwell I passed a watercress farm owned by Sun Salads. The watercress grows in spring water naturally filtered through the local chalk – perfect!
By the time I reached Ludwell I was very thirsty having drunk all my water. Right opposite the bus stop was a pub, The Grove Arms. On such a glorious day I was surprised that there weren’t loads of people sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. Sadly, I discovered the pub closed down in October 2024. The village shop was also closed, so I’d have to wait until I got back to Shaftesbury for liquid refreshment.
My bus turned up on time and I was soon in Shaftesbury where I headed for the nearest pub for a pint! Shaftesbury is actually back in Dorset. It’s a thriving town with mainly independent shops and cafés. Gold Hill in the town was the filming location for the 1973 Ridley Scott advert for Hovis bread. It made the street famous nationally. After taking some photos of the street, I found another pub where I had my tea whilst waiting for a taxi I’d booked to take me back to my car in Iwerne Courtney. Back at my car I drove to the Talbot in Iwerne Minster for a 2nd night.
What an absolutely perfect day today had been! I’d now completed 68 miles of the Great Chalk Way across some beautiful countryside. I was so glad I’d waited to begin my challenge until the bluebells were flowering. I hadn't completed the Wessex Ridgeway as a consequence of leaving at Wim Green, so I'll have to return soon to walk the rest of it to Marlborough!
Comments