A Labyrinth, Lost among a-mazing views and a minor tour (geddit?) of Dorset

Dave and I found ourselves in Dorset this weekend in an amazing farmhouse in West Milton near Bridport. We were joining a friend for her 30th birthday for a large fancy dressweekend party with a 'Labyrinth' theme.

It was a great opportunity to do some Greensand Way training on some serious Dorset hills. We set off on the Saturday morning early at about 8.30am. We had sensibly consumed a lot of sports drink the night before and gone to bed late to simulate the tiredness of a greensand way running weekend.

Dave ready to set off for our 'Hidden Valley' run

Dave had selected a 6.5 mile route called the 'hidden valley' route which had a special laminated card with the directions on it provided by the farmhouse we were staying in. With idiot proof bullet points what could go wrong?

Danger ! Ant route on the Ant Hill Trail

The back of our farmhouse leads straight onto The Ant Hill Trail. The trail is about showing how farmers and conservationists and ramblers can work in harmony. you can find out more here http://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/hres/anthill%20trail%20leaflet.pdf

As we ran up and along the first ridge we were rewarded with some spectacular views even though it was a very overcast and 'white sky' day.

We also got lost......... at the second bullet point on the idiot proof card.

Great Views of......we dont know......somewhere near the Ant Hill Trail

For many people getting lost can make you fearful and stressed.  As experienced Greensand Way Runners we are well used to lost and we took it all in our stride.

We gave up on trying to follow or find the route and carried on running along the ridge with fantastic views in both directions. What is great about running in a whole new location is that a lot of things can be quite different. We could smell wild garlic as we ran and also the large ferns in the steep woodland embankments on sunken paths made some areas feel very 'jurassic'

Ant Hill Trail Marker ( lee loves signage)

We carried on roughly following the Ant Hill Way and in the distance could see an even taller hill with what looked like a trig point on it. It looked like it would roughly be at the 3 mile mark which was perfect for a 6 mile round trip run.

Lee Trig Point planking near the Ant Hill Trail

Dave Planking on a trig point near the Ant Hill Trail

On the return journey Dave took us back through  Beningfield Wood up some VERY steep uphills where he had been a tumbling tosser the day before.

Lee getting some hill climb practice in at Beningfield Wood

The run back involved a lot of downhill which was great, back through the 'jurassic paths' and we saw some of the hand carved Ant Hill Trail signs (and a short cut !)

Ant Hill Trail sign and a useful short cut

The final part of the return journey invloved a very steep path back to the farmhouse which Dave raced up and I found very tiring.

Dave running up the last path back to the farmhouse

We had a great run and it was great to mix up the training with some new terrain, new smells and sights and on another great national trust/rambler path that is enjoyable for walkers and runners (just like the Greensand Way). We took some of our friends on this route later that day on a walk, most enjoyed the views like we did, a few groaned at the effort.



Lee and Dave later that day


We celebrated that evening with plenty more sports drink and some great costumes.