WALKS IN DORSET at ANSTY , BINGHAM's MELCOMBE & HILTON (4K)

In this episode of my series “ Walks in Dorset”, I take a 3.5 mile “circular” walk from the village of Ansty to the settlements at Bingham's Melcombe & Hilton and back. Once again I am accompanied by my Whippet, Logan.
I parked my car at The Fox Inn at Lower Ansty. Ansty consists of four settlements - Higher Ansty, Lower Ansty, Ansty Cross and Pleck or Little Ansty.
There was once a brewery in the village (that was the origins of the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery now based at Blandford Forum) that played an important part in the history of the area.
I started my walk with a wander through the village, past the Brewery shop, village hall & Malthouse Cottages and then took a footpath to the South East, on the Southern side of the Mash Water (a delightful stream that soon becomes known as the Devil's Brook).
At the tiny settlement of Bingham's Melcombe, (once a village but became deserted in around 1400 …. all that remains is the main house, rectory & church), I got to explore St Andrews church.
My route then took me North, uphill to a ridge & then downhill to the pretty village of Hilton where there was another church to visit.
My homeward journey back to Ansty took me past a beautiful lake as well as some amazing thatched houses.
My final destination was The Fox Inn back at Lower Ansty.
Information Sources: Wikipedia, Dorset Churches, Historic England, British History Online & Dorset OPC.
Map courtesy of Google Maps.
Aerial pictures courtesy of Google Maps.
Music from the KZbin Audio library.
Historic Maps NLS Maps 'Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland' maps.nls.uk/in...
For further videos in the series, please go to: / @daveford or my website at daveford5966.w...
My Facebook page is: / davescountrysidewalks
I use a GOPRO HERO 7, 8 or 10 Black Action Camera (sometimes with a Gimbal) & a Rode microphone (either a “Shotgun” or a Rode Wireless Go) together with a Canon Powershot SX530 HS.

[@melissaphillips3088]

Dave this is such a beautiful area. I don’t think there are more beautiful churches than England has. The buildings and houses are spectacular. What a lovely day for you and Logan to walk. Hope you both are well☀️

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Melissa. Both of the churches are so pretty and indeed the area around there is stunning. It always helps when the weather is good as well!

[@melissaphillips3088]

@@DaveFord I am sure Dave . It is always so beautiful . Take care Dave and have a wonderful day.Looking forward to the next walk .☀️

[@keithjoseph5671]

Wonderful as can be walking adventure in the countryside of England

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Keith.

[@CarryonYoutubization]

Thanks for another superb film. Always a great way to start the weekend :)

[@DaveFord]

Thank you .... and have a great weekend!

[@jeanblemings5352]

Loved Logan's reaction to the 'here be dragonflies' moment! You are spoiling us with two churches and the fascinating history of the Hall and Woodhouse pub and brewery. Really interesting. Thank you for another Friday treat.

[@DaveFord]

Thanks Jean. Yes, not sure that Logan was too happy about a dragonfly landing on him!

[@charlesfulcrum3170]

Dave, I watched your video this morning and as I live locally, have just completed the walk. It was absolutely wonderful. The quaint All Saints church at Hilton is quite something. On finishing the walk, I opted to head to the farm shop at Milton Abbas for a cool beer.😀

[@DaveFord]

Glad you had an enjoyable walk - hopefully the sun came out for you? That Farm Shop is very good - i believe that it has won awards in the past.

[@rachelt-s]

Oh this is right up my street Dave. Excellent video with so much information about the history, mystery and intrigue. Many thanks - it's such a treat on a Friday afternoon to enjoy watching these delightful walks. 😊

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Rachel. So much history around those tiny villages!

[@inarcadia3296]

Thank you for all the preliminary research which makes the exploration so exciting and instructive!

[@DaveFord]

Thank you. It is such a pretty part of the county around there for sure.

[@jorose6093]

Beautiful, another walk to add to the ever growing list 😊👍

[@DaveFord]

Thank you. It is a lovely area for a walk and The Fox makes a great final destination!

[@EarlfromNovaScotia]

Fantastic walking videos Dave. Keep up the great walking films. Love the history comments.

[@DaveFord]

Thank you & indeed thanks for watching.

[@michaeldacombe1759]

What a wonderful video. I grew up in Hilton and went to the school and remember when the Crown was still open. Hambledon cottage had a little sweet shop attached then! I was christened in St Andrew's in Bingham's Melcome (my dad worked on the Bingham estate). Thanks for the memories!

[@DaveFord]

Thank you for sharing your lovely personal memories of the area & indeed thanks for watching.

[@AliBees]

I must visit Dorset more. Looks a stunning place. My last proper country walk and stay over was near Piddlehinton. Loving the zoomies! Thank you for sharing a lovely walk and the background history.

[@DaveFord]

Thank you. It is such a beautiful county for sure!

[@ralphfeay8857]

Thumbs up Dave!! Such a pleasure to watch your videos. Bless you Sheila and Ralph

[@DaveFord]

Thank you both. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@dawnyWestScotland]

Lovely walking with our dogs, such wonderful company. 🐶🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🌲

[@DaveFord]

A dog is great company on a walk for sure!

[@janetcutts7921]

Wonderful

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Janet

[@thesolitarycyclist9005]

Lovely video Dave. I wonder if there is a connection between "Mash" Water and the brewery? John.

[@DaveFord]

Thanks John. Yes, good point, I hadn't thought of that .... you may well be correct.

[@TheChur]

Great walk and video as always! Logan is a great boy.

[@DaveFord]

Thank you. Yes, Logan is a lovely companion to have on a walk! Thanks for watching.

[@richardlongmuir8348]

Whippet zoomies😂😂😂 Logan is like the Rhubarb dog

[@DaveFord]

Yes, I see what you mean!

[@geoffw8565]

Lovely video Dave. Watching it I almost feel I'm there ! Thanks

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Geoff. :)

[@eldred1809]

Lovely walk again Dave, you can't 'alf pick 'em! Good to see the Fox is still open, that used to be a favourite summer's evening drive out from Wimborne, to sample the excellent menu and beers (only the one of course 'cause I was driving), and also the other Fox Inn at Corscombe. You have Logan well trained, when I had my dog he'd fetch the ball about 3 times and the 4th time he'd just stand and look at me as if to say "I've brought it back for you 3 times, you can fetch it yourself now, I've got important sniffing to do".

[@DaveFord]

Thank you. The Fox is a super pub & makes a great final destination for the walk.

[@andrewnorris2]

Lovely to see you filming an area I'm so familiar with. The Devil's Brook runs through my sister's farm. Interesting to hear the names Derbiville (?) I'm sure its no coincidence that Hardy based his novel in that area. One walk you could do very near to this one is to Dorsetshire Gap, a magical place.

[@DaveFord]

Thanks Andrew. Logan & I visited the Dorsetshire Gap on our walk at Lyscombe Bottom (18 mins 50 secs into the video) kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6nHmHmMpNJjh6M

[@JustmeandB]

MDCCCLII= 1852…..only just found your site and as we live just across the border from Dorset really enjoy the walks you do…

[@DaveFord]

Thank you& indeed welcome to the channel! I hope that you enjoy the future videos in the series. Thanks for watching.

[@jhnshearn51]

Another beautiful video Dave, I was surprised to see the old Fox Pub still trading I used to go out there sometimes when living in Blandford they did some pretty mean Scrumpy there back in the day.

[@DaveFord]

Thanks John. It is a fine pub, in a lovely setting.

[@martincannon1078]

Dorset looks the place to be. Nobody there it seems. I'm becoming a hermit!

[@DaveFord]

There are certainly parts of the county that are very peaceful!

[@JimNicholls]

Thanks for another lovely walk, Dave. Are you still planning some more Sussex walks before the good weather is over?

[@DaveFord]

Thanks Jim. Yes, I hope to get a couple of "Sussex Walks" filmed in the next few days - the forecast is looking good!

[@JimNicholls]

Good to know, and I'll look forward to seeing them.@@DaveFord