White Hart Link

In the course of our walking adventures, in addition to the long-distance paths for which there are specific entries on this website, we have walked short sections of a number of other named paths.  Unless we have either walked a substantial fraction of the path's length, or have definite plans to do so, these routes do not usually have their own entry on Jordanwalks. However, I have made an exception for the White Hart Link, because at the time of writing it doesn't appear to feature on OS mapping, and I think it is worthy of any publicity I can give to it. The White Hart Link was designed to link the five market towns of North Dorset (Gillingham, Stalbridge, Sturminster Newton, Blandford Forum and Shaftesbury) and the villages in between, using footpaths and quiet lanes. It passes through beautiful scenery.  I hope we can return to this lovely walk on future holidays. 

The route has its own website and, on the basis of what we saw when walking a corner of it in  April/May 2023,  it is well signposted.  The logo on the signs is attractive, showing a white hart (deer). The 2019 leaflet advertising the route tells us that "The Blackmore Vale was once known as the Vale of the White Hart. Legend has it that a white stag that was protected by Henry III was killed by a bailiff of Blackmore Forest. He was fined and imprisoned and the vale paid a fine of White Hart Silver for many years." The route is relatively new and the implication from what it says on the website is that they are still improving it, but we weren't aware of any problems. Most of the walking is relatively low level, and I think they may be working to improve the accessibility. 

There is a spur of the path from Blandford Forum to Stourpaine and thereafter it follows a circuit which, in  an anticlockwise direction, goes north to Shaftesbury, then around in a loop by way of Gillingham, Stalbridge, Sturmister Newton and Shilingstone and back to Stourpaine. We realised after following the route north from Stourpaine to Shroton (Iwerne Courtney) and Iwerne Minster, that we'd already walked the section from Blandford Forum to Stourpaine (and Shillingstone), along the North Dorset Trailway, on one the days we were heading to the Wessex Ridgeway, so there is no need to walk this part again.  I've repeated the relevant bit of the description as the first leg of the White Hart Link.

First leg (Blandford Forum to Stourpaine and Shillingstone)