Godmanstone to Grimstone

We have driven through Grimstone many times on the way to Dorchester and, to be quite honest, decided it lived up to its name. There is, of course the lovely viaduct just north of the village, but not a lot else - until, that is, you discover Grimstone Down.

I marked out a circular walk starting from Godmanstone, walking down across Grimstone Down to the edge of Grimstone and back up Hog Hill and Watcombe Bottom to Godmanstone.

We walked up Fry's Lane in Godmanstone to begin our walk. A prisoner of war camp was apparently established on this lane in the early 1940s and prisoners worked in local farms and gardens. The site was demolished in the 1960s and houses were built in its place.

SY6597 - Fry's Lane

At the junction we turned left and headed down Crete Hill.

Crete Hill track - SY6596

We had walked along this track before in search of glow worms last summer and had seen badgers, glow worms and a Barn Owl. This time we saw very little in the featureless daylight.

We only skirted the corner of SY6496, but managed to find a cross dyke and a tumulus, hidden under vegetation in the woodland.

Tumulus in woodland - SY6496

Back on the footpath proper we found Jackman's Cross. Eager to learn the origin of its name, we researched it later when we got home. Apparently there is a lovely old book called 'The Old Stone Crosses of Dorset' by Alfred Pope, who wrote that, ' There is a tradition that a man named Jackman was hanged on this cross early in the eighteenth century for sheep-stealing, but the writer has searched through the Court Rolls which are in his possession as lord of the manor, and date back to 1640, and is unable to find any confirmation of this tradition.

Inscription beneath stone seat at Jackman's Cross - SY6495

Jackman's Cross - SY6495

'Nothing is Distant from God' - SY6495

All that is left of the original cross is the foundation, but the current cross was  commissioned by Christopher Pope, great-grandson of Alfred Pope, author of 'The Old Stone Crosses of Dorset.'  It was created by Andrew Grassby of Grassby (Stonemasons) of Grimstone from a piece of Purbeck Cap, a Jurassic limestone. It was Christopher Pope’s wish that the Cross be made using methods from an earlier era. Bronze chisels were struck with a small boulder covered in leather to shape the monument.

A seat was also made by the same local stonemasons with the lovely inscription 'Nothing is distant from God'  and the inscription on the plaque beneath it reads:

This Wayside Cross is offered in celebration of the SECOND MILLENNIUM of JESUS CHRIST Our Lord on this ancient path from Abbotsbury to Cerne Abbas. It replaces an early cross of which only the foundation remains and was dedicated at millennium midnight 1999-2000 by the Rt Revd John Kirkham Bishop of Sherborne – The seat commemorates the family of Alfred Pope author of The Old Stone Crosses of Dorset which has cared for this land through six generations.

Kestrel at Jackman's Cross

We were now on Grimstone Down and walking through an old settlement. Suddenly we were overwhelmed by stuff to see around Grimstone! Not so grim after all! There is no longer much to see of the settlement which once extended for about 100 acres.

Part of settlement at Grimstone Down - SY6495

Part of settlement at Grimstone Down - SY6494

The footpath ends up at Grimstone Dairy, an attractive building, where it crosses the old Roman road between Dorchester and Ilchester. 

Grimstone Dairy - SY6494

We crossed the railway via a bridge and walked into Grimstone to find an Ordnance Survey rivet that we had looked for for a long time. It is positioned on a bollard at the Old Mill.

Bridge over railway - SY6494

Attractive road sign, Grimstone - SY6394

Ordnance Survey rivet on bollard at Grimstone Mill, SY6394

Grimstone Mill - SY6394

The rivet search had been gratuitous, purely to indulge our penchant for benchmarks, but at least we didn't have to walk back either the same way or along the busy A37; instead we walked under the aforementioned attractive viaduct (which boasts an Ordnance Survey flush bracket - arguably one up on the rivet), past the equally attractive Viaduct cottage and back onto the Dorchester/Ilchester Roman Road.

Grimstone Viaduct - SY6394

Flush bracket on Grimstone Viaduct - SY6394

We crossed the railway again, just for fun and I walked briefly in to SY6593, just to claim the gridsquare, before we walked back in earnest.

Crossing the railway near Stratton - SY6493

Farm near Stratton - SY6593

 I immediately informed Paul that we were now crossing the corner of four gridsquares. I think he panicked, thinking that I would insist on setting foot in all four - now that would be fun, to have each of our four feet in a different gridsquare - but we didn't do that! I've discovered you can end up chasing your tail with the GPS trying to find when exactly you're in a particular gridsquare - even though it looks easy on the map!

We made our way back up Hog Hill on a different path, before rejoining our path just south of Jackman's Cross. We made use of the bench for a second time to have our afternoon cup of flask tea and then headed eastwards, above Watcombe Bottom and in a new gridsquare to the A352 at Forston.

Signpost at Watcombe Bottom - SY6595

I had photographed these last two gridsquares on a previous walk, so these photos are from that occasion in May when the sun was out.

Forston Grange - SY6695

Climbing Cowden Hill, looking towards Godmanstone - SY6696

This part of our walk is part of the Cerne Valley trail, a 26 mile walk which follows the River Cerne from near its source at High Stoy and Dogbury, to its confluence with the River Frome in the watermeadows below Charminster. It is a very pleasant walk and was a lovely way to conclude our eight mile afternoon stroll.


Number of new gridsquares: 8
Number of miles walked: 8
Number of benchmarks seen: 2
Number of viaducts: 1
Number of times crossed the railway: 4