Stour Valley Way (Dorset)

Bournemouth, Dorset, Poole, Wiltshire

This route follows the course of the River Stour as it winds through the Dorset countryside. Both the listed guides are long since out of print but the route is retained here as it is shown on OS mapping so can be followed with an OS map, or using the GPX files below. The older Green Fields publication describes one route from Christchurch to the source of the river in Wiltshire. The newer Green Fields publication described the revised route by Edward Griffiths when he renamed it the Stour Valley Path. The original route was waymarked with the kingfisher marker. Between these editions, Dorset Council established their own route marked with the newer waymark. The routes differ in detail.

There are two short way-marked loops available to walkers, both are marked on OS Maps. One is at Wimborne (Eye Mead Weir GR ST99712 00099 - Dawsons Hole GR 01695 99016) to avoid the flood-prone Eye-Mead. There is a minor amendment to this route shown by OS Maps as a recent housing development has resulted in a change to the path on the west side of the town near to Julian's Bridge (GR SZ 00418 99913). The other loop is from West Parley (GR SZ 08336 97335) - Throop (GR SZ 11236 95742). This route on the south bank of the River Stour is waymarked throughout and promoted as a cycle route as the north-bank route follows footpaths.

The waymarked Wareham Forest Way, which is included on OS mapping, connects at Sturminster Marshall and provides a 12-mile route to Wareham. The waymarked Ferndown, Stour and Forest Trail (10 miles circular and also included on OS mapping) links with the Way near to West Parley. The waymarked Castleman Trailway (16 miles and on OS mapping) goes between Ringwood and Upton Park and crosses the Way at Wimborne Minster.

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Details:

Path Type:	Paths Marked on OS mapping
Waymark:	Name & Explore the River, on blue ring, replacing kingfisher logo
Attributes:	Easy River
Start:	SZ183912 - Hengistbury Head, Christchurch, Dorset
Finish:	ST778341 - Stourhead, Wiltshire
Web Sites:	Walking the Stour Valley Way

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Publications, Badges and Certificates:

Guidebook	New Stour Valley Path : the complete route from Christchurch to Stourhead  (Green Fields Books  - 1997 )
Guidebook	Original Stour Valley Path : with complete guide to the Stour Valley Way  (Green Fields Books  - 2003 )
General Interest Book	Stour Valley Way in Pictures  (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform  - 2017 )

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