A one-mile stroll around Corfe offers history, wildlife and beautiful views

Take a relaxing stroll around Corfe Castle and discover this famous romantic ruin. This brief walk also gives you the chance to explore some lesser-known sites and take in some unusual views. Look out for the water meadows and chalk downland, which are teeming with wildlife.

Terrain The majority of the walk is on a well-made path, but some parts may become muddy. At points the walk runs beside a road, so be careful with children and dogs. The walk crosses a river by bridge but for the more adventurous bring wellies or a towel.

Trail Walking Grade Easy Distance 1 mile (1.6km) Time 30 minutes to 40 minutes OS map Explorer OL15 Contact corfecastle@nationaltrust. org.uk Facilities National Trust tea-room in village open every day, 10am – 5.30pm. Also pubs around village. Toilets in Castle View itself or by castle in village Start and end Castle View car park, grid ref: SY959824 Map reproduced with the kind permission of the National Trust.

1. From Castle View car park, cross the A351 and continue straight through a gate onto a stone path signed Village Centre.

2. Continue along the path, ignoring all gates left and right until you reach a gap in the hedge.

3. Cross the road and turn immediately right along the footpath to a gate and onto the Rings; take a good look at the gate post as you pass.

4. The Rings are thought to date back to the 12th century when King Stephen unsuccessfully besieged Corfe. They were later adopted by Cromwell’s parliamentarians in 1775 as a battery. The ramparts provide wonderful, uninterrupted views of the castle.

5. Walk down through the site, cross a stile and head towards a gate. Once through, turn left.

6. Cross a small wooden bridge and walk through the field to a kissing gate leading onto a road. Turn right and follow the road around to the next junction. Turn right then left into Webbers Close, which will bring you out onto the halves, once a medieval strip field system. Today all that remains is an occasional linear ridge and stone boundary marker.

7. Bear left towards the playing field. Diagonally cross the playing field and take the alleyway beside Corfe Castle Evangelical church. Turn left into the square and head towards the castle.

8. Turn left past the tea rooms, onto Olly Vies Lane. Continue to the road and cross the footbridge directly opposite. Pass the ruin of West Mill on the right which dates back to the 16th century.

Explore, sit or splash about before returning back along the path to the car park.

9. We hope that you really enjoyed this one mile walk. The National Trust looks after some of the most spectacular areas of countryside for the enjoyment of all. We need your support to help us continue our work to cherish the countryside and provide access to our beautiful landscapes. To find out about how you can help our work as a volunteer, member or donor go to nationaltrust.org.uk

Things to see

Mill on the Wicken The first probable reference to West Mill is in 1290. Everyone on the manor had to bring their corn to be milled there and 1/16th was kept by the miller as payment. By 1795 records show that, Mr Apsey was paid for ‘taking the said mill asunder’. The buildings were then converted into three houses, which were demolished in 1922.

Land division by ‘Halves’ A medieval field system called strip plots can be seen around Corfe village. They were once arable fields but are now under pasture. They usually appear as a linear ridge and can have a stone to mark the division. Each property had strips of land scattered around the village, this way good and bad land was shared equally.

Two castles The earthwork you see is a medieval ring and bailey castle consisting of a massive rampart up to 13ft high, with a surrounding ditch and a platform just inside it. It’s about 130ft across and 0.2 acres in area. This earthwork is the remains of a siege castle thrown up by King Stephen in 1139 when he unsuccessfully besieged Corfe Castle, held for Matilda, his cousin.