RAMBLERS ASSOCIATION
EAST DORSET GROUP

Local Interest

This is your page! Many walkers have a great deal of knowledge about the countryside and it is fascinating to hear them talking about places we pass on walks.

If you know something about a Dorset landmark or place, or something about local history, why not tell us about it by emailing us.

Clavell Tower

The Clavell Tower is a familiar sight on the coastline above Kimmeridge Bay. It was built in 1830 for the Rev John Richards Clavell as an observatory and folly and later used by coastguards. It was gutted by fire in the 1930s and recently its position became precarious as coastal erosion threatened to topple it. Its popularity resulted in a campaign to save it and at last a heritage lottery fund grant was obtained to dismantle it stone by stone and rebuild it 25 metres further inland, which should keep it safe for another 200 years. This work was completed in 2008 and rooms in it will be let out in the future as a holiday appartment.

St Aldhelm's Chapel

Millenium Gardens

This garden was developed in the village of Hinton St Mary (north of Sturminster Newton) on the site where a Roman mosaic floor was discovered. The garden was created by volunteers among the villagers, who have also maintained it since it was first opened in the year 2000. As you enter the garden you see the maze shown in the photograph, a living sun dial in which you cast the shadow and rustic seating among shrubs and flowers. At the far end of this area, you pass into a small orchard.

The mosaic floor has since been moved to the British Museum.

This overgrown yew hedge, seen over a wall from the grassy strip running north out of Bingham’s Melcombe about 5 miles north of Puddletown, has been there since Tudor times.

Throop Mill

The mill at Throop (on the Stour, just north of Bournemouth) is an early 20th century building but there have been mills at this site for at least the last 1000 years. The ponds, the weir and river crossings make this a very pleasant spot. Sadly, the mill is in a poor state of repair and plans to restore it have failed so far.

You can find more about its history here.