Leaving the church we took the path that runs around the edge of the hill following the Stour Valley Way.  We followed this, more or less, all the way back to Shapwick.  We deviated slightly to keep close to the river but had to make our way back to rejoin it by the Pump Houses knowing that it almost impossible to cross the little stream anywhere else.

​For more information these locations visit:
http://www.thedorsetpage.com/locations/Place/T010.htm
https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/visit/church-listing/st-mary-tarrant-crawford.html​
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~jimella/tcrawfrd.htm

We stopped at the Coach and Horses in Wimborne for lunch, yet again, but were dismayed to find that they had run out of gammon.  They had actually run out of quite a number of items on their menu.  So it was one pie and one hunter’s chicken plus two pots of tea for the princely sum of £15.60.

​The next section of the walk was completely different being through open fields.  There were some nice grassy tracks and only a couple of short ones over slightly muddy fields.
Turning back south just before Stuckton we came across what appeared to be a partially completed development on the right behind the church and then what appeared to be a completely deserted chicken farm, just to the left of the path.  It looked quite eerie.  The narrow path soon opened out into the fields where the wind became quite a bit more noticeable.  We had started looking for a place to sit for a break but the scenery was rather dull.  A short spell on the road and then we turned right across the fields again before joining the upper reaches of the track that starts opposite the Royal Oak.  Luckily we were high enough to miss the sludge.  We looked for a seat by the car park but the wind was too strong and too chilly so we moved into the woods where we found the ideal fallen tree in a well protected spot.  Leaving here we found it easyer to walk along the open lawn area rather than the path that runs along the field boundary.  We were soon climbing up and onto the open heathland where once again the wind was quite strong but no doubt the fresh air was good for us.

A bright white trig pillar caught our attention by the edge of Whitefield Plantation.  According to a small plaque mounted on it this has been adopted by the Ringwood & Fordingbridge Footpath Society.
We had to wend our way round a few tricky paths trying to get back to the farm track by Newton Farm.  We may have missed the footpath but it looked as if the area through which it is supposed to run was waterlogged.​

The farm track was again occupied by animals - cows this time and they led us all the way back to Hockey's

We headed roughly north east along the bridleway for around 3/4 of a kilometre before turning left and walking towards Castle Hill Wood.  There are quite a few permissive paths on the Edmondham Estate and, when open, a copy is available from Edmomsham House.  This has apparently been in the same family since 1563.  Rob was given a copy some time ago but it is quite difficult to read so I have had a go at producing my own version.  Although the paths are quite well marked they do not seem to be used very often.
The walk through the woods was very pleasant but we made a poor choice trying to walk around the north side of the hill to drop down onto Mill Lane.  The drop was steep and there was no proper path.  We crossed the rather muddy field to the outskirts of Cranbourne.
​

Permissive Paths and Muddy Paths

The description will probably not sell this walk to many but it tells it like it is.  This is a great walk if you like walking on concrete!  Although the route looks as if it is on a lot of bridleways it is in fact mostly on the concrete that was put in place for the airfield.  This is where glider borne troops set out for Normandy on 5 June 1944.  You can read some more details at:
​ http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/d-dayonyourdoorstep/details/raf-tarrant-rushton-airfield.  

Somewhat earlier as we sat on some conveniently placed straw bales we met one of the farmers who was travelling around on a quad bike looking for a three legged deer.  It had apparently been hit by a car and he was on a mercy mission.  We hope he found it but we never spotted any deer the whole day which quite surprised us.

It was quite poignant to stand by the Memorial at Windy Corner, knowing that Remembrance Day was just coming this weekend, and seeing the pictures of some of those who flew from here that had been placed by relatives and friends.
It was a funny old walk but we had a good time and enjoyed our two meals for £10.45 at the Coach and Horses.