Multiple Farm Walk
It’s surprising how many farms there are in one small area of Purbeck, on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. This walk leads you through multiple farmsteads, with the Purbeck Hills as their backdrop.
Enjoy a gentle stroll through the rolling hills and through picturesque woodland. You’ll go over and under the steam railway line so listen out for Thomas the Tank Engine or even the Flying Scotsman!
Life in rural Dorset was very self contained years ago, with local farmers being self-sufficient by rearing animals, growing all the produce they needed and baking their own bread. You might also be surprised to learn that farm buildings were not always used just for livestock and agriculture.
Please note, at times the stiles may not be fully accessible to dogs or overgrown, depending on the weather and how well the council have been looking them. Watch out too for farmers’ placing electric fences across footpaths, as they move livestock from field to field. This is all part of hiking in the countryside!
Start at New Barn Farm, where you can easily park on the side of the road. Approximately 100m uphill from the railway bridge, turn right at the footpath sign, next to an old wood shed. Follow the track for a short distance before climbing over a stile on the left, into a large sloping field, along which the steam railway line runs on its southerly boundary.
There is an odd-looking metal barrier just beyond the stile, which you can wiggle through to emerge on a bridleway leading straight ahead to farm no. 2: Knitson Farm. Walk through the farm, with the buildings on your left, until you reach the road, which curves round through the old farm cottages. Dairy Cottage will be on your right, and the modern-day farmhouse on your left. Straight ahead is Knitson Old Farmhouse, which has a beautiful garden, which is occasionally open to the public and well worth viewing.
Follow the road, bearing right as you approach Knitson Old Farmhouse, and continue up the track, passing two other cottages (one the converted stables). Follow the track until you reach a gate, which swings open to another track, where you turn left. This is the underhill path that tracks the base of Nine Barrow Down.
Continue along the underhill path, which tracks the hedgerow on the left and gives you an impressive view of the rising chalk path up onto the down on the right.
The underhill path, that you will take, is itself very pretty. The hedgerows alongside the path are often laden with sloes and blackberries in the autumn and usually you will catch sight of numerous woodland creatures such a squirrels, rabbits and deer, as well as the multitude of birds and farm animals in the neighbouring fields.
Part of the track is very muddy and could be impassible in winter or heavy rainfall, as there is a natural spring just north of farm no. 3: Knaveswell farm. If there is too much mud you can pick out an alternative route by taking a left turn at a footpath sign and walking through a sloping field towards the road, which you follow to the right to take you to Knaveswell. If you decide to brave the mud then continue until you reach a turning to the left through a gate to farm no. 4: where you descend on the path to Ricketts Farm. Both the road and the footpath lead you to Ricketts farm so don’t worry about getting lost if you take the alternative route.
Interestingly the old barn on the left handside of the lane, and directly opposite where the footpath joins it, used to be a Quaker Meeting House in years gone by. A perfect location for some quite contemplation! Taking the footpath to the right of the barn, on the left hand side of the lane, head due south through some farm buildings and on to an open field (with the farmhouse behind you). It’s a joy to walk through this secluded field, which gives you another perspective on the landscape. Head to the bottom left corner of the field and pick your way through a woodier area, turning left where the path opens out into another field. Follow the lefthand edge of this field, where again it can become a bit swampy, and keeping to the left climb over a gate and into another field, which slopes gently upwards.
Follow the hedge on the right where the footpath takes you to a stile, after which the path emerges at the BP garage, St Michael’s, from here you need to take care crossing the busy A351 road. Once safely over, go through a gate directly opposite, where there is a house on your right, which used to be a pub called The Red Lion (or the Ragged Cat to locals who had either had too much to drink or didn’t know their lions from their domesticated moggies!). The path now leads you through some beautiful woodland, crossing over the railway line and up into another open field. Walk uphill through this field and at the top turn left, picking up the path amongst the trees. Keep following the path going past farm no.5: Wilkswood Farm. The path eventually leads you back to crossing the A351 again, where you take the lane directly opposite, signposted to Knitson.
Our final farm is a small pig farm on the left of the lane as you head towards the railway bridge to where you started at New Barn. 6 farms on one walk is definitely a multiple farm walk!
3.00 miles
1 hour 16 mins
508 ft
Fields, Paths and road
Yes - woof!
OS Grid Ref: SZ 001 797
Latitude: 50° 37' 3" N
Longitude: 1° 59' 54" W
Elevation: 86ft
