Attractions and Places To See around Shapwick - Top 20

nice ride

In addition to the main rail bridge spanning the river, smaller bridges were built to allow traffic and pedestrians to cross the cuttings and track as it travelled north-west. Three bridges were built for this purpose and all of them remain integral to the navigation of the town today. Arguably the most distinctive of them is the Alexandra Street pedestrian footbridge, above the site of the dismantled station. Constructed from iron and now partially supported by four narrow legs, the bridge stands at what was once the northern end of the station, where the single-line section to Templecombe began. Blandford station remained open until 7 March 1966, when the entire line from Bath to Bournemouth closed to passengers. Goods traffic continued for a further three years, but the station was finally closed and the track lifted in 1969. Following the closure, the Damory railway bridges, on the southern approach to the station, were eventually demolished in 1978.

What a beautiful place to ride a bike! Nothing too demanding along this route. A mixture of cyclists, dog walkers, hikers and pushchair parents. highly recommend this route.

There are documentary references to the building of "A Bridge on the River Stour adjacent to the White Mill" in the year 1175. Although the bridge you'll see today is probably a sixteenth century structure (somewhat hacked around by the Victorians). It is known, from an investigation of the foundations a few years ago, that the bridge stands on timber pilings which have themselves been carbon dated to the twelfth century. This is alleged to be the oldest bridge site in Dorset. Note the bridge warning plate "Any person wilfully damaging any part of this County Bridge will be guilty of Felony and upon conviction liable to be Transported For Life by the court"

Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort and Scheduled Monument in east Dorset, England. In the Roman era a temple was located immediately west of the fort, and there was a Romano-British town known as Vindocladia ( Known today as Shapwick ) a short distance to the south-west. It sits over 300 feet above sea level, and there are two main phases of construction; the first covered 18 acres and was defended by multiple ditches, while the second was more than twice the size, covering 41 acres and defended by a single ditch and rampart. These ramparts make for great walking, but imagine the terror of trying to scale one whilst under attack from the occupants. Once you'd scaled one, there were more waiting for you. No wonder it was the last fort to be sacked by the Romans. Wonder just how many soldiers died trying to take it. Until 1983 Badbury Rings was privately owned as part of the Kingston Lacy estate, and the owners discouraged investigation of the site.[2] The site now belongs to the National Trust.[2] A survey of the hillfort by the RCHME was begun in 1993. The summit area was cleared of undergrowth by the National Trust in 1997 and the conifer plantation was thinned out. A survey in 1998, which recorded 28 potential hut sites within the ramparts, although some depressions are probably caused by uprooted trees. The first excavations, led by Martin Papworth, took place in 2004, when three evaluation trenches were dug. Almost all of the pottery found was dated to the Late Iron Age. The current evidence does not suggest that the hillfort was a principal settlement in the Early Iron Age. It seems likely that the hillfort became depopulated towards the end of the Late Iron Age, perhaps as the Vindocladia settlement near Shapwick developed.

Wimborne Minster is the parish church of Wimborne, Dorset, England. The minster has existed for over 1300 years and is recognised for its unusual chained library (one of only a few surviving chained libraries in the world). The minster is a former monastery and Benedictine nunnery, and King Æthelred of Wessex is buried there. The Chained library is located upstairs, up a very windy stone staircase. No lifts to it. Until it was confiscated during Henry VIII's reign, the old Treasury held the wealth of the minster and numerous artefacts such as (reputed to be) a piece of the true cross, wood from the Manger and cloth from the Shroud. Since 1686 it has housed an important chained library. The chained library was one of the first public libraries in the UK, and it remains the second-largest. Some of the collections of the library include a manuscript written on lambskin in 1343, a book bound for the Court of Henry VIII, an incunabulum printed in 1495 on the works of Saint Anselm, and a Paraphrase of Erasmus printed in 1522 with a title page designed by Holbein. The library is run by volunteers and remains open to the public on week days 10.30-12.30 & 2-4 (closed in winter season). The Bells Since 1911 the west tower at the minster has been home to a ring of ten bells. The original tenor bell was housed in the central tower and was cast in 1385. The central tower was considered too structurally weak to add much more additional weight, so in 1464 the west tower was constructed in order to house five bells. In 1629 the tenor bell was recast. Besides the tenor, the minster at this time was home to the 'Bell of St. Cuthburga', 'The Fyfer Bell', 'The Jesus Bell' and 'The Morrow Mass Bell'; presumably all housed in the west tower. In 2012, the bells were augmented to 12 by Whitechapel Bell Foundry, with an additional semitone bell cast to make a total of 13 bells. Tombs The most important tomb in the church is that of King Ethelred, the brother of Alfred the Great. Ethelred was mortally wounded in a battle at Martin, near Cranborne. The exact location of the tomb however is unknown, though sources and legend indicate that it resides somewhere near the altar.

Bradbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort. The Romans built a temple here and there was a Romano-British town known as Vindocladia nearby. Today, you can run the earthworks and around the edge, it's fun and fascinating. The National Trust own and manage the site but it's open access to all.

Now only two spans remain and are preserved by the Blandford Railway Arches Trust. The railway bridge was built by the Somerset and Dorset Railway around 1880 and was demolished after the line closed in 1966 as part of the Beeching cuts.