the good, the fab and the lovely

Travel: England – A walk in Sturminster Newton, Dorset

Posted on October 12, 2017 Updated on October 2, 2017

In July we went on a short holiday to England of which I have already written several posts. I still owe you lots of beautiful pics, so let’s continue on our trip…

On one day we did a little roundtrip covering some inland sights in this beautiful county. Our first stop was Sturminster Newton, which was only a ten minute drive from our holiday home.

Sturminster Newton lies in the pieceful, rural Blackmore Vale. We did a little stroll through the village, which is covered in charming thatched cottages. Sturminster Newton is a lively village and on the local farmers market (every 4th Saturday of the month), you can buy local products and experience the true taste of Dorset.

Our main goal of our visit to Sturminster Newton however, was to follow a walking trail for a couple of miles. This allowed us a glimpse of the stunning countryside, once home to writer Thomas Hardy (who wrote Tess of D’Urbervilles amongst other classics).

We passed the famous Sturminster Newton Mill, a 16th century mill, one of the few remaining working mills in Dorset. When the mill is open, a supervisor will explain how the grain is turned into flour and he will also tell you a thing or two about the history.

The mill is idyllically situated alongside the river Stour, the longest river in Dorset. This gives splendid riverside views and there are several picnic areas.

We walked a bit further, crossing some farms and pastures until we reached Colber Bridge, a 19th century cast iron footbridge, which is listed. This bridge gives a view towards a partly demolished railway bridge. Both bridghes are beautifully situated in the Dorset countryside.

A bit further on, we reached the centre of the village again, heading towards the car park to drive on to our next stop Blandford Forum of which I will make a travelpost next week!

See you soon here on ‘the good, the fab and the lovely’ 🙂

Love, Kathleen