June 2017| 123
At the end of the High Street, past the South Street
Kitchen steak house, cycle over the town’s bypass and
into the pretty Wyke area of Gillingham. Turn left after
300m at the sign for Kington Magna, and the road
becomes singletrack between high-sided hedges. Under
the railway line, turn left for Eccliffe.
This is a retty hamlet with little tra c, and while the
back lanes (Bleet, Folly and Witch Lanes, all marked NCN
25) are high-sided, there are glimpses over farm gates to
wide-o en fields and views of the ale. The route takes
you into the village of East Stour, the halfway point of the
20-mile route.
which isn’t great, although it’s ossible to come off near
town and head up the steep Tout Hill, the original road
west out of Shaftesbury.
Alternatively, you can ignore the sign to Shaftesbury
via the A30 and head straight on to Foyle Hill, leading
up to the town’s St James parish. It’s not often you see
a signpost saying ‘very steep’ – but this is. The climb
continues up St John’s Hill to the town at a 14-degree
angle.
You’ll have to stock up on treats in Shaftesbury,
Motcombe or Gillingham, as from here on in, hen and
goose eggs and other farm gate sales (broad beans at
olliffe’s Cottage ottery,
are the only sustenance.
Alternatively, it’s a 600m dash from East Stour along the
busy and narrow A30 to the Udder Farm Shop. You will
have to book a meal here (01747 838899), so popular is
its breakfast and lunch with produce from the owner’s
farm. Toasted beef and blue cheese sandwich followed by
orset a le cake with clotted cream, anyone
Resuming the leisurely pace south of East Stour on the
NCN , take the first left and kee going. The hori ons
o en u here, dominated again by the eak of uncliffe
Wood, an ancient woodland said to have inspired Thomas
Hardy to write The Woodlanders.
The hill on which the wood sits looms large, and there
is a car park, from which paths rise to the summit. It’s
managed by The Woodland Trust and is very popular with
walkers, drawn in by the dis lays of bluebells, wild flowers
and butterflies, lus the views down lackmore ale.
From the next village of Stour Row, the route runs for six
miles on ale flatlands along the NCN , then north on
the NCN253 back to Shaftesbury. It takes you past The
Real Cure, an excellent charcuterie sourced from Dorset
venison. There is no shop as such but, if you ring James in
advance (07970 000681), he’ll try and accommodate you.
Otherwise, you can buy online or at Fortnum & Mason.
The alternative route from Stour Row is a three-mile ride
straight to Shaftesbury, heading due east through Cherry
Orchard. The signpost directs you on to the busy A30,
The other option, after you conquer Foyle Hill, is to head
on upwards along St James’s Street to Ye Olde Two
Brewers, a very welcome sign.
As it happens, the pub is a few revolutions away from the
base of old Hill, an a osite way to finish your ourney.
It takes around 40 seconds for serious cyclists to climb
the hill, including the grueling last 10 metres up a narrow
alley to the High Street.
There is a lovely lunchtime restaurant, The Salt Cellar, at
the top of the hill. And another pub, The Mitre, to your
right, where you can revive on the terrace and look back
over Wiltshire to admire how high you have climbed.
And while you’re in North Dorset, why not spend the night
in Shaftesbury The bbey and old Hill museums are
well worth exploring, and there are several options for
places to stay and eat (shaftesburytourism.co.uk). Go on
– you’ve earned it.