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Vernditch Chase

✦ Ancient woodland158 ha

📷 Maigheach-gheal · Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

Plan your visit

WildlifeBirdsSeasonal
Public accessFree entryDogs welcome158 ha

Getting here

50.99046, -1.94941

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Visiting this summer

Seasonal nature notes and what to look for now

  • 🌞Midsummer — early morning visits most comfortable; look for deer fawns in quieter clearings
  • 🐕Early mornings are best for dog walks in summer — visit before 9am to avoid the heat and find quieter trails
  • 🅿️Martin Down Upper Car Park 202m away — 6 car parks within reach

Good to know

  • £Free to visit — no entry charge
  • 🐕Dogs welcome
  • 🌿Ancient woodland — rare wildlife habitat
  • 🌳Large woodland — room to roam
Parking· Free

Best for

9 activities

Wildlife

Multi-group wildlife — Birds, Mammals, Reptiles; Multi-group wildlife — Birds, Mammals, Reptiles

Free

Bird watching

Birds — Pheasant, Blackbird, Woodpigeon +62 more · last seen 2025; Birds — Pheasant, Blackbird, Woodpigeon +62 more · last seen 2025

Free

Seasonal nature

Ancient woodland — bluebells, fungi and autumn colour; Plants — Curly Crisp-moss, Hornschuch's Beard-moss, Clustered Feather-moss +115 more · last seen 2026

Free

Insect spotting

Chalk and limestone grassland — chalkhill blue, adonis blue and rare moths; Insects — Volucella bombylans, Garden Chafer, Eristalis pertinax +46 more · last seen 2026

Free

Dog walks

Dogs allowed — public woodland

Free

Foraging

Deciduous woodland — fungi, berries and wild garlic; Plants — Hogweed, Walnut, Wild Marjoram +4 more foraging species

Varies

Trails nearby

Within roughly 5 km
🚶

Walking

4 signed routes nearby · 1 public path nearby

Signed route nearbyPublic paths
Cranborne Droves WayWalking route

The route of the Cranborne Droves Way walkers route between Win Green where it links with Wessex Ridgeway and Salisbury where it links with the Sarsen Way

Named routeRegional walking route
Shire RackWalking route

Path following the Dorset-Wiltshire border

Named route
Jubilee Trail (Dorset)Walking route
Named routeRegional walking route
The Hardy WayWalking route
Named routeRegional walking route
🚴

Cycling

2 signed routes nearby

Signed route nearby
Wiltshire CyclewayCycling route155 km
Named routeRef WCLength 155 kmRound tripRegional cycle route
National BywayCycling route
Named routeRef NBRegional cycle route
🚵

Mountain biking

2 signed routes nearby

Signed route nearby
Fordingbridge Off Road Cycle TrailMountain bike route
Named route
Cranborne Droves Way TrailMountain bike route
Named route
🐴

Horse riding

18 public paths nearby

Public paths
Ox Drovebyway open to all traffic · 1.7 km
Public pathbyway open to all trafficLength 1.7 kmSurface unpavedPath type: track
Ox Drovebyway open to all traffic · 2.3 km
Public pathbyway open to all trafficLength 2.3 kmSurface dirtPath type: track

Wildlife to spot

Photos

Woodland track in Vernditch Chase

📷 Maigheach-gheal · Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

Woodland track in Vernditch Chase

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Nearby places

Useful places within 5 km

✦Two linear earthworks, two barrows and Iron Age and Romano-British settlements on Tidpit Common DownHistoric site4.4 km→✦Long barrow south-west of Vernditch ChaseHistoric site800 m→✦Bokerley Dyke, and a section of Grim's Ditch, a section of a medieval boundary bank, and two bowl barrows on and north west of Martin DownHistoric site2.7 km→✦Knighton Roman road (stretching from Reddish Gore to reservoir)Historic site3.3 km→✦Earthworks S of Knighton Hill BuildingsHistoric site3.5 km→✦Grim's Ditch: Old Lodge Copse to Toyd ClumpHistoric site3.7 km→

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