Robust Rambles

Greatstone-on-Sea to Gillingham(Dorset) Robust Ramble

Section 56

Donhead St. Andrew to Semley

Walk Details
Walk Instructions

Greatstone to Gillingham Robust Ramble

Section 56  Out

Donhead St. Andrew to Semley

Map: OS Explorer 118 Shaftesbury

Distance: 3 miles/ 2 hours

Start: The Forester pub in Donhead is open seven days a week. They are sympathetic to walker parking, no real opportunity for onroad parking in this village.

Comment: This is a shorter walk than previous sections. However, allow plenty of time. This is all pasture land and long wet grass makes for slow going. The way through Leggatts Stock Farm needs careful negotiation and stiles beyond are very challenging. The last half mile into Semley is along a country road.

With The Forester behind, turn left along the road to a road junction. Turn right down the road to Semley. Keep down and around, past Donhead Lodge and House until approaching the church.

Immediately before the church, turn right into a gateway and onto a drive. Walk down a short distance until opposite what looks like the old school building. Here bear right through a black metal swing gate and continue up an enclosed path.

At the top go through a wooden swing gate and turn left into a field. Go up the left edge to find two stiles in the corner. Cross both into a rising pasture. Ignore a stile over on the left, instead bear diagonally right up and across the pasture to an oak tree in the very top opposite corner.

Go through a metal swing gate by a metal fieldgate and on up the side of the next field. At the corner ahead exit through a metal swing gate by a metal fieldgate, down to a road.

Turn right up he road. Pass between houses to come to a side road off right. Immediately beyond find a stile by a wooden fieldgate and go into the field.

Walk diagonally left to a substantial wooden power pole. Pass this on your left and keep on across the field to a wooden swing gate in the hedge ahead.

Enter an undulating field and go straight across       passing a short line of trees on your left. At the far side, near the righthand corner, find a substantial black stile.

Cross into a farm area. Turn right down to a rusty metal fieldgate. This is on a footpath but not the one to be used. Go through the gate and turn immediately left along the side of the field. At the corner ahead go through a metal fieldgate and turn right to another metal fieldgate (no waymarks). THIS IS A BUSY CATTLE FARM SO BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET CAUGHT IN STOCK MOVEMENTS.

Go through into a large sloping pasture and go down past isolated trees to a pedestrian gate in the bottom hedge.

Enter the field beyond. This does not seem on the route of the OS map, so go diagonally left across the field to the lefthand hedge and turn right up it. On nearing the top part of the field look carefully for an overgrown style in the hedge on your left.

Cross this then a footbridge then a further stile into the next field. Turn sharp left along the side of this field to the corner ahead. Do not leave the field but turn right up the side for 20 metres to a stile hidden in a corner.

Cross and go steeply up a bank in woods then on, on an enclosed path past a house to a stile onto a road.

(The next section has a gate to climb and a truly appalling stile. If in doubt turn right on the road and follow it all the way to Semley)

Cross the road to a metal fieldgate. This was tightly secured and needed to be climbed. Bear diagonally right across and down the field to a stile in the far hedge, just left of a lone tree.

The stile is overgrown and badly broken but the improvised tubular metal barrier beyond is almost impossible to cross.

Go on down the field ahead to a metal fieldgate at the bottom and exit onto a road.

Turn left for ½ mile.

The road leads into the heart of Semley. Pass                   St. Leonard’s Church on your left to reach a T-junction. Turn left to the village shop and café or right, then soon left to the Benett Arms pub and end of the section.

Greatstone to Gillingham Robust Ramble

Section 56  Return

Semley to Donhead St. Andrew

Map: OS Explorer 118 Shaftesbury

Distance: 3 miles/ 2 hours

Start: The Benett Arms pub in Semley is open seven days a week. There is reasonable opportunity for onroad parking in this village.

Comment: This is a shorter walk than previous sections. However, allow plenty of time. This is all pasture land and long wet grass makes for slow going. Several paths pass through woodland and may be very wet and muddy. The final return into  Donhead has to use the outward route.

With the Benett Arms behind, turn left to a road junction, then right, to continue past the church on your left, the shop on the right and the school on the left. Immediately past the last building on your left turn left on a grassy path down to a footbridge and metal swing gate.

Keep on up the field ahead to two metal swing gates at the top. Go through to the corner of the top field.

Bear slightly left to follow the field edge (possibly not quite as on the OS map). Ignore a path off left and soon reach a stile in the fence on the right.

Over the stile bear left and then straight down into a valley and up the far side.

Enter a wooded Nature Reserve through a metal kissing gate. Go forward a few paces then turn sharp left to continue along the edge of the wood.

At a Y-fork bear left upto a metal kissing gate into a pasture. Head over, slightly right, towards a house at the far side.

On reaching the house go over a stile by a metal fieldgate onto a drive. Stay on this drive as it bears left and down to meet a road (this is not a PROW but always accessible).

Cross the road to continue down a stoney byway. Pass a house halfway. The byway now deteriorates into a rough track very wet and muddy for much of its length.

Emerge onto a road and turn right uphill. At the top of the hill by a house called Conduit, drop down slightly left onto the driveway to Leggatts Farm.

On reaching the farmhouse on your left, turn right on the main track up past buildings then swinging left to pass above most of the buildings.

Keep forward past all the buildings until faced by a hedge and an abandoned tractor.

Turn left downhill a few paces looking for a substantial black stile in the hedge on your right. Cross into a pasture (the route now is a return down the outward section).

Go straight across the field passing a short line of trees, to a swing gate in the hedge at the far side.

Continue towards a wooden power pole. Swing right after this to a stile by a wooden fieldgate in the corner and emerge onto a road.

Turn left on the road, crossing a side road and continuing up between houses. Pass a towering conifer hedge on your left, then leave the road and go up to a metal fieldgate on the left.

Go through a metal swing gate at the side into a pasture. Bear left down the side of the field with the hedge on your left to the corner ahead and a metal swung gate by a metal fieldgate.

Enter a steeply sloping field and go diagonally right down to the bottom opposite corner.

Cross two stiles and keep down the righthand side of a small field to an enclosed path at the bottom.

Keep forward on this, ignoring a path off right. Cross a footbridge then wind left on a narrow path to a stile. Cross into Mill Lane and turn right.

At the top turn right on the main road through the village and soon return to The Forester and the start of the section in Donhead St. Andrew.