The Stour Valley Way is a long-distance

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

in southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. From Stourton, Wiltshire, the path travels southeast through Dorset to

Hengistbury Head Hengistbury Head (), formerly also called Christchurch Head, is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Mudeford in the English county of Dorset. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeology ...

near

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

The path uses public

rights of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by Easement#Easement by prescription, prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' ...

and permissive paths to follow the course of the River Stour. About from Stourton, west of

Zeals Zeals is a village and civil parish in southwest Wiltshire, England. The village is about west of Mere, next to the A303 road towards Wincanton, and adjoins the villages of Bourton, Dorset and Penselwood, Somerset. Its name comes from the Old E ...

, the path crosses briefly to the Somerset bank of the river where it intersects the east-west

Monarch's Way The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West Sus ...

footpath, then enters Dorset north of Bourton. The route later passes through the towns of

Wimborne Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

and Gillingham, and the villages of

Silton Silton is a small village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale northwest of Gillingham. In the 2011 census, the civil parish had 57 households and a population of 123. In 1086, Silton was recorded in the ...

, Milton-on-Stour, Ecclife, West Stour,

Stour Provost Stour Provost is a village and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour between Sturminster Newton and Gillingham. In old writings it is usually spelled Stower Provost. Stour Provost once co ...

Fifehead Magdalen Fifehead Magdalen is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies within the Blackmore Vale, about south-southwest of Gillingham and west of Shaftesbury. It is sited on Corallian limestone soil and surro ...

Marnhull Marnhull ( ) is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies in the Blackmore Vale, north of Sturminster Newton. The resort towns of Bournemouth and Weymouth are approximately south. Marnhull is sited on a l ...

Sturminster Newton Sturminster Newton is a town and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It is situated on a low limestone ridge in a meander of the River Stour. The town is at the centre of a large dairy agriculture region, around which ...

Child Okeford Child Okeford (sometimes written Childe Okeford) is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, east of the small town of Sturminster Newton in the North Dorset administrative district. Child Okeford lies downstre ...

, Stourpaine,

Bryanston Bryanston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour west of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 925. The village is adjacent to the grounds of Bryanston School, an inde ...

, Blandford St. Mary,

Charlton Marshall Charlton Marshall is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies within the North Dorset administrative district, on the A350 road south of the market town of Blandford Forum. It is sited on a river terrace above the flo ...

, Shapwick, Oakley,

Canford Magna Canford Magna is a village in Dorset, England. The village is situated just south of the River Stour and lies between the towns of Wimborne Minster and Poole. The village has a mixture of thatch and brick buildings, mostly serving as residence ...

, Knighton, Dudsbury and

Holdenhurst Holdenhurst is a small isolated village situated in the green belt land of the north-east suburbs of Bournemouth, England. The village comprises fewer than 30 dwellings, two farms and the parish church. There are no shops and few local facilities ...

. There are ferry crossings between

and

town quay or

Mudeford Mudeford ( ) is a harbourside and beachside parish based on a former fishing village in the east of Christchurch, Dorset, England (historically in Hampshire), fronting water on two sides: Christchurch Harbour and the sands of Avon Beach. The Riv ...

quay. The path has two alternative sections which can be used to form circular walks: one to the southwest of Wimborne, and the other to the southwest of

Bournemouth Airport Bournemouth Airport (previously known as Hurn Airport and Bournemouth International Airport) is an airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, in southern England. The site opened as RAF Hurn in 1941, but was transferred to civil cont ...

. The footpath is

waymarked Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

and is shown as a series of coloured diamonds on

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

1:25,000 and 1:50,000 maps.

References

{{reflist Long-distance footpaths in Dorset Footpaths in Wiltshire

See also

References