Spetisbury Station Project – North Dorset Trailway loop from Charlton Marshall

Mountain biking trails

Spetisbury Station Project – North Dorset Trailway loop from Charlton Marshall

Easy

riders

Spetisbury Station Project – North Dorset Trailway loop from Charlton Marshall

01:01

15.7km

110m

Mountain biking

Easy mountain bike ride.

Last updated: November 2, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape

Waypoints

Start point

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2.49 km

Spetisbury Station

Highlight • Rest Area

Lovely old Somerset and Dorset railway line

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2.49 km

Spetisbury Station Project

Highlight (Segment) • Historical Site

Great place to stop

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3.40 km

Crawford Bridge over the River Stour

Highlight • Historical Site

Of medieval origin but widened in the 1800s, this stone bridge spans the River Stour at Spetisbury and is a lovely place to pause (in one of the cut-waters) and admire the river as it ambles south.

The upstream side of the bridge is the older, perhaps 15th century, but significantly harder to get a good view of due to private land preventing access. Nonetheless, the bridge is magnificent however you look at it. It's named 'Crawford' as it takes the road to Tarrant Crawford, a little to the north.

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4.58 km

Field Gate, Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs

Highlight • Trail

5.47 km

Parterre Gardens at Keyneston Mill

Highlight • River

Worth stopping here for a coffee as this high-end perfume shop actually serves some of the best coffee around and has a beautiful garden to sit in.

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6.90 km

Closed Bridleway Gate

Highlight • Rest Area

gate shut and can't get past, had to go via the road Blandford

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9.63 km

Blandford Railway Arches and Footbridge

Highlight (Segment) • Historical Site

In addition to the main rail bridge spanning the river, smaller bridges were built to allow traffic and pedestrians to cross the cuttings and track as it travelled north-west. Three bridges were built for this purpose and all of them remain integral to the navigation of the town today. Arguably the most distinctive of them is the Alexandra Street pedestrian footbridge, above the site of the dismantled station. Constructed from iron and now partially supported by four narrow legs, the bridge stands at what was once the northern end of the station, where the single-line section to Templecombe began.
Blandford station remained open until 7 March 1966, when the entire line from Bath to Bournemouth closed to passengers. Goods traffic continued for a further three years, but the station was finally closed and the track lifted in 1969. Following the closure, the Damory railway bridges, on the southern approach to the station, were eventually demolished in 1978.

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