Walk 7 - Rempstone Forest

A complete change of scene: a walk across airy, open heathland with stunning views, before plunging into a pleasantly varied forest with broad walks where deer may often be seen. A good place for creative thoughts. Round trip is roughly 2½ hours.

Local Walks
Agglestone
Old Harry Rocks
Ballard Down
Swanage
Little Sea
Fishing Barrow
Rempstone Forest
Ower Quay
Corfe Castle

We begin by walking to the Fishing Barrow (Walk 6), but at the bifurcation where we chose the return to the Agglestone, we take the left pathway, marked to Rempstone Forest; the path shortly divides again, and we ignore a descending path to Greenland to the right. After a steep descent veering to the right, and crossing one of the golf-club lanes, the path continues through a small wood, along a ridge directly away from the club house (another stunning view) until after half a mile there is a fork: take the right-hand path. It runs alongside a curiously shaped double hill, which you can make a diversion to climb if you are feeling energetic and don't mind the barbed-wire fence with which they have recently been enclosed.

Ahead, the path descends and then plunges straight into Rempstone Forest. The next bit is not well marked, and may be partially obstructed by fallen timber: beware also of treacherous pitfalls underfoot. Do your best to continue in the same line until you reach the bottom of a broad, straight avenue climbing upwards and diagonally to the left. This in turn leads after about a quarter of a mile to a large junction where a great deal of tree felling has been going on; turn right on to the surfaced road that bends gradually round to the right and continues to the eastern edge of the forest. Here there is a sharp right turn, but ahead a swing gate leads to an easily-negotiable (though often muddy) ford. Ascend the further bank, and you find yourself in a small clearing with a track running to left and to right. Turn right, and go through the gate into the field. Your path lies diagonally to the left across this well-horsed field, across a slight rise where there used to be a gate. In fact many of the gates in this area are being removed so don't worry if they are not there!. A gate at the edge of the field leads to path that runs across a gorse-studded hillock down to another gate at a lower level, in an area that is often muddy. Go through it, and follow the well-marked path: ahead you will see the Agglestone and the mass of trees surrounding the hotel. Follow the slowly descending path until you reach the junction with the ferry track described in Walk 5; continue onwards and you will reach the point where the Agglestone path goes off to the right: by now you should know your way back to the hotel.