Martin Circular

Whether on the neolithic Dorset Cursus, the Roman Ackling Dyke or the modern A354, people have crossed this area where Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire meet for centuries. But they have also known the value of lingering in this lovely locale, whether for a lifetime in the timber-framed cottages and stone-built mansions that outnumber the modern houses, or for eternity in the burial mounds. Our crossing and lingering will last just six hours as we complete this enjoyable summer saunter (please see the route at the Ordnance Survey site by clicking on the link here).

The archaeology in this area is prodigious. Wor Barrow is a large neolithic (3500-2500 BCE) long barrow. Ackling Dyke is the Roman Road from Dorchester to Old Sarum and the most impressive and best-preserved stretch of Roman road in Southern Britain. The agger (embankment) is over 2 metres high in places and the width is over 15 metres. It crosses the Dorset Cursus (a neolithic processional path associated with ancestor-worship) near the route of the walk. There are almost a hundred barrows (bowl, bell and disc) dotted all around, dating from the neolithic to the bronze age (1500-800BCE). Bokerley Dyke (or Ditch) is a bronze age cultural boundary, cut through by the later Ackling Dyke.

Martin Down Nature Reserve is, according to the Hampshire County Council billing, '350 hectares of unspoiled chalk downland where flowers and insects flourish and rare birds sing. The insects are attracted to the ancient sweeping grasslands that have dozens of different species of wildflower. Birdsong comes from cuckoos, yellowhammers, skylarks and even turtle doves. Although the landscape is not dramatic – a gentle rising vista of open meadows, scrub and ancient hedges - it feels ancient. The great Bokerly Ditch runs along one side while mysterious mounds and dells hint that this was once a populated area in forgotten ages. Now sheep have the run of it.'

The settlements include the village of Sixpenny Handley, known as just Handley until the mid-19th century, a pretty place with a mostly Victorian church (St Mary, 1877) and some handsome houses despite a fire which ravaged the place in 1892. Pentridge is a smaller village, just a scatter of houses along a lane but with a church. Prettiest of all is Martin itself, a mellow assemblage of whitewashed cottages with a Norman and 13th-century church. It was the location for the shooting of the Doctor Who story The Awakening in 1984. 

Dogs are welcome to join us on this event but we do ask the following: Please ensure you adhere to the Countryside Code at all times - see (Keeping Dogs Under Effective Control) If your dog is uncontrolled and strays in open land frightening other animals or livestock, the leader is supported by the OutdoorLads board of trustees to ask you to leave the event as this is not acceptable behaviour.

(Picture credits: Martin Down Rifle Ranges: Photo © Mike Faherty (cc-by-sa/2.0); Path on Martin Down: Photo © David Martin (cc-by-sa/2.0); Memorial on the green at Martin: Photo © David Martin (cc-by-sa/2.0) Farmland view above Church Bottom; Photo © David Martin (cc-by-sa/2.0); Fox Covert: Photo © Colin Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0); Garston Wood information Photo © Nigel Freeman (cc-by-sa/2.0); Sixpenny Handley, village store: Photo © Mike Faherty (cc-by-sa/2.0); Track on Martin Down: Photo © David Martin (cc-by-sa/2.0); Bokerley Ditch: Photo © Maigheach-gheal (cc-by-sa/2.0). All pictures are copyrighted but are licensed for reuse under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 2.0 and are here attributed to their copyright holders.)

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