The best running trails around Pamphill

Lovely ancient ruins at Badbury rings

Great pub walk on the stour valley way

Old Roman rd dating 43 AD to 409 AD. Excavations on the line of the Dorchester road at Crab Farm revealed that it was above and therefore later than the filling of the three fortification ditches dating to the later 2nd century. Finds of coins above the road metalling were 3rd- 4th century in date. The Bath and Hamworthy roads are probably 1st or 2nd century in date. An earlier route to Old Sarum branches from the Bath and Hamworthy roads and is partly followed by the east boundary of the Batts Bed field. This was one of the key route centres of Roman Dorset, even more so if the Shapwick/ Pamphill parish boundary proves to be on the line of a road to Hod Hill and Ilchester. Apart from Dorchester there are no other crossroads like this in Dorset and because it is not occupied by a town it is often used in text books as an example of the Roman communications network.

Perfect place to park for free.

White Mill is an 18th-century water powered corn mill near Sturminster Marshall in Dorset on the River Stour which is in the care of the National Trust. The first record of a mill on the site is from Domesday Book; the current watermill was rebuilt in 1776 and extensively repaired in 1994. It still retains its original elm and applewood machinery though this can no longer be used. The mill and house are both built of brick with tiled roofs. The mill house has two stories whist the mill has three with an attic. The house has a single story lean-to extension and a timber porch. The machinery and mill stones remain but the two water wheels are no longer present. The present mill is thought to be on the site of an earlier one, probably one of those mentioned in Domesday Book. The current mill was rebuilt in 1776 on older foundations. The tenancy of the mill was the held by successive members of the Joyce family. The mill worked under water power until 1866 when a severe winter flood caused damage that was deemed beyond economic repair. The miller at the time was also a baker and he converted half of the mill to run from a portable steam engine to supply his bakery with flour. The last miller retired at the end of the 19th-century and the mill was not used again

Shapwick is a village and civil parish in east Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour five miles south-east of Blandford Forum and eight miles north of Poole. The village has a population of around 200 people, 9 dogs, 12 cats and 3 sheep, and an angry squirrel named Dennis. In Roman times there was a Roman Fort at Crab Farm, between Shapwick and Badbury Rings. Just to the west of the fort was a small Romano-British town, believed to be that listed in the Antonine Itinerary as Vindocladia.

Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort and Scheduled Monument in east Dorset, England. In the Roman era a temple was located immediately west of the fort, and there was a Romano-British town known as Vindocladia ( Known today as Shapwick ) a short distance to the south-west. It sits over 300 feet above sea level, and there are two main phases of construction; the first covered 18 acres and was defended by multiple ditches, while the second was more than twice the size, covering 41 acres and defended by a single ditch and rampart. These ramparts make for great walking, but imagine the terror of trying to scale one whilst under attack from the occupants. Once you'd scaled one, there were more waiting for you. No wonder it was the last fort to be sacked by the Romans. Wonder just how many soldiers died trying to take it. Until 1983 Badbury Rings was privately owned as part of the Kingston Lacy estate, and the owners discouraged investigation of the site.[2] The site now belongs to the National Trust.[2] A survey of the hillfort by the RCHME was begun in 1993. The summit area was cleared of undergrowth by the National Trust in 1997 and the conifer plantation was thinned out. A survey in 1998, which recorded 28 potential hut sites within the ramparts, although some depressions are probably caused by uprooted trees. The first excavations, led by Martin Papworth, took place in 2004, when three evaluation trenches were dug. Almost all of the pottery found was dated to the Late Iron Age. The current evidence does not suggest that the hillfort was a principal settlement in the Early Iron Age. It seems likely that the hillfort became depopulated towards the end of the Late Iron Age, perhaps as the Vindocladia settlement near Shapwick developed.

Eye Bridge in Wimborne is on the River Stour. It has plenty of parking right next to the river, however, it can quickly fill up on a summers weekend. Eyebridge is a lovely spot to Paddleboard, you can head up stream for a good 5+ miles and there’s also a pub stop off at the end (Coventry Arms) if you fancy it.