Easy-to-moderate walking with some ascents / descents, and occasional longer days.
The season for this holiday is:
01 March 2021 - 31 October 2021
01 March 2022 - 31 October 2022
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| °C | 7 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 8 |
| mm | 77 | 53 | 62 | 45 | 56 | 52 | 41 | 57 | 62 | 68 | 73 | 83 |
We can only accept payment in GBP, but you can use this converter to find out how much the holiday equates to in your own currency.
4 nights: 01 March 2021 - 31 October 2021 & 01 March 2022 - 31 October 2022
Start Sunday-Thursday | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Mar - 30 Apr 2021 § | £515 | £220 |
| 1 May - 30 Sep 2021 § | £535 | £230 |
| 1 - 27 Oct 2021 | £515 | £220 |
| 1 Mar - 30 Apr 2022 § | £545 | £235 |
| 1 May - 30 Sep 2022 #: § | £565 | £245 |
| 1 - 27 Oct 2022 # | £545 | £235 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | -£30 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £30 |
Included travel: transfer Shaftesbury-Cranborne to collect car OR Shaftesbury-Gillingham railway station
Please note: dogs are not permitted on Inntravel holidays
Room upgrades (£ per person per night)
| Museum Inn, Farnham | ||
|---|---|---|
| 'Feature': 01 Mar - 31 Oct 2021 | £8 | |
| 'Feature': 01 Mar - 31 Oct 2022 | £10 | |
| 'With View': 01 Mar - 31 Oct 2021 | £18 | |
| 'With View': 01 Mar - 31 Oct 2022 | £20 |
Connecting travel options - out via Salisbury, home via Gillingham
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest train arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| taxi Salisbury station to hotel (0h40) | £14 in 2021; £15 in 2022 | flexible |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest train departure time |
|---|---|---|
| taxi hotel to Gillingham station (0h20) | included | flexible |
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Fabulous food, especially at the Shaftesbury hotel. Overall the route was too challenging for me but that was my fault for not noting the total distance.
The walking holiday meets Inntravel's usual high standards. Finding a beautiful oak tree to sit under while eating our picnic! The scenery is gentle but the history is wonderful.
We normally go on walking holidays with Inntravel in Europe but have tried two UK walking holidays this year of the 'plague', on the South Downs and in North Dorset. Although both are in downland, they are different in character, as are the landscapes in subtle ways. We were delighted with the areas, the suggested walks, choice of accommodation and suggested restaurants. Well done Inntravel!
Fabulous food, especially at the Shaftesbury hotel. Overall the route was too challenging for me but that was my fault for not noting the total distance.
The walking holiday meets Inntravel's usual high standards. Finding a beautiful oak tree to sit under while eating our picnic! The scenery is gentle but the history is wonderful.
We normally go on walking holidays with Inntravel in Europe but have tried two UK walking holidays this year of the 'plague', on the South Downs and in North Dorset. Although both are in downland, they are different in character, as are the landscapes in subtle ways. We were delighted with the areas, the suggested walks, choice of accommodation and suggested restaurants. Well done Inntravel!
It was a joy to walk among the footpaths, lanes and fields of this part of Dorset, with a kaleidoscope of butterflies flitting around. The vistas were far reaching, especially from Win Green, and walking in the shade of Chase Woods was delightful on a very hot day. On our first night we saw the Milky Way twinkling over the village of Cranborne. If you do the Tarrant Gunville circular walk, head up the lane from the church of St Mary for half a mile to find a very good farm shop and cafe at Home Farm. The food throughout was very good and the final meal in the Fleur de Lys was superb.
Another great holiday from Inntravel ending with a superb meal included at the Fleur de Lys in Shaftesbury
Thoroughly enjoyed the holiday and particularly the last day, walking from Farnham to Shaftesbury, as the scenery and walking was more varied.
The accommodation at each stop was excellent. Personal highlight was Fosse at Cranborne. Quality of food was superb (try the cheeseboard!) This was our first walking holiday and we probably underestimated the quite challenging climb on the final day. But the views were worth it! The organisation was excellent. Clear walking guidance (we got slightly lost on day 2 having become a little confused by short cut/alternative routes offered) but were able to pick up the route again fairly easily. Bags transferred without a hitch and final taxi arrived right on time. Would definitely recommend your company.
The 360 degree view from the top of Win Green is spectacular and well worth the climb. The notes on the history and Hardy connections are fascinating, adding an extra dimension to the landscape. The included evening meal at La Fleur de Lys Shaftesbury was exceptional.
This was one of the most, if not the most, beautiful walks we've ever done. Truly magical.
We were blessed with marvellous walking weather. The walks have few places of rest and interest or benches along the way, so we were lucky.
My daughter had a wish list of what she hoped to see on the walks and ticked all three, rabbits, pheasant and deer.
We both loved the peace and feeling of detachment especially after the last 14 months. The fact that we were only briefly on any road, the beauty and colour of the fields (the rapeseed being in full bloom), the woods with wild garlic and bluebells and the variety of the landscape from day one to day three.
We were blessed with glorious late summer weather for our Hardy Way walk (mid-September 2020) which ensured we had most benefit from the stunning scenery and distant views. So that was a highlight for us. Having enjoyed several walking holidays with Inntravel on the continent and in UK, we appreciate your skill in selecting just the right accommodation and routes to suit our needs.
I have done many - perhaps 8 - holidays now with Inntravel and they are wonderful. Such attention to detail, well-chosen routes with splendid scenery and local interest, and great little pubs and hotels chosen. This was the first one I've done in Britain. We left London on Monday morning, had a full day's walking that day, and then three more, before a final morning on Friday; so, with only four nights away, we felt we had had a full holiday, walking in the beautiful gentle countryside of inland Dorset, which is not especially frequently visited and we didn't know. Various locals commented that 'nobody comes here', which is just what we wanted and what Inntravel is so good at making possible. Though we're not huge Thomas Hardy fans, the Hardy-related details added texture and interest. The villages on the route are straight out of a Merchant and Ivory vision of thatched England, but not twee and not overrun with tourists; that could be because of COVID but I doubt it. We loved it and are grateful to Inntravel for organising another great holiday like this.
The walk routes were beautiful. Because of the remoteness of some of the areas - and possibly due to the relative newness of the Hardy Way - the addition of a gps hiking app, like Gaia, would be helpful to have along.
The walk from Farnham to Shaftesbury was beautiful and varied and overall the walking was interesting with plenty of pretty thatched cottages and Hardy background info. However, the first walk from Cranborne to Farnham (12 miles) did not have much to recommend it, consisting mainly of one field after another at times with no discernible path over ploughed areas and nowhere to stop for refreshment, we perched on a bank in Cranborne Chase to eat the lovely picnic provided by the Inn at Cranborne. Everything else was up to the usual excellent Inntravel standard - good accommodation, very detailed and accurate notes and accurate difficulty rating.
Our walk was an adventure. We loved the challenge of moving through the directions and anticipating what was around the bend, which was always beautiful, at times magical. The inns were quaint and comfortable, all serving delicious food and drink.
Prior to this trip Charley and I hiked the South West Coast from St Ives to Penzance, an amazingly beautiful landscape and serendipitously beautiful weather. Doing this hike through a different touring company made me realize how much time and effort Inntravel puts into the description of the hike - not only the very detailed directions but also the terroir: the history, geology, and all sorts of interesting information. We very much appreciated this information and it added to our pleasure in the hike. We had a few moments of confusion with the directions when it came to picking up the thread after not having done the short-cut. We figured it out, even in the pouring rain the first day. Inntravel does a great job. We traveled to Norway last summer using Inntravel and I am sure we will do another trip in the future.
This was a perfect short walking break to experience the beautiful North Dorset Countryside. There was an abundance of views, birds and other wildlife and very few people. The villages were perfectly rural and on the whole people were very friendly. The packed lunches were excellent and enjoyed in some absolutely stunning locations. The Inns used started off well and just got better as we progressed. The three course meal included at The Fleur de Lys in Shaftsbury was exceptional. And it was all helped along by blue skies and sunshine.