Easy hikes and walks around Horton

nice stopping off point, too the many bridleways and tracks in this area..

New way to enter Moors valley country park, just of the Verwood Rd, single track along side nere the lakes.. beware of the pedestrians..

Nice cycle path through the Valley. Unfortunately can be a lot of loose dogs in the area, making the ride a bit more cautious.

Enjoy a ride on an authentic steam train around Moors Valley Country Park. Carrying over 100,000 passengers annually, the railway provides a picturesque journey of just over a mile. Travel along the banks of Moors Lake, through tunnels, a forest incline, and a spiral loop around the play areas. The railway is run by an extended family team and many dedicated volunteers. With over 20 locomotives, many built in the railway workshop, it prides itself on providing an authentic steam railway experience. Opening times vary depending on the month. Times are mainly 1045am to latest of 5pm

This hand operated water pump was "The Gift of W.H.Carter AD 1909". The pump is located on the edge of the village and does not now pump water.

In the year 1401 the Parish Church of Horton was built upon the site of the Priory Church. It appears to have consisted of Chancel, North Transept and Nave. It was dedicated to Saint Wolfrida in honour of Wolfrida, once abbess of Horton Abbey. By 1720 the once fine church had, through misuse and neglect, been reduced to a ruinous state. What part of it remained appeared to be very ancient and a part of the original Priory Church. In 1722 it was almost totally rebuilt. THE TOWER with five bells which stood between the body and the chancel was pulled down, and all but one of the bells, together with other materials of the old building, were disposed of to pay for the restoration, and the present tower was built. The remaining one bell is inscribed; :Love God - 1684”. The architecture of the present tower is interesting. Professor H.V. Colvin has drawn attention to the fact that the general design, and especially the pointed roof and heavy cornice, bear a remarkable resemblance to the plans drawn by the famous 18th century architect Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) for the unfinished Eastbury Manor House at Tarrant Gunville. The resemblance is so striking and so numerous that it leads to the conclusion that the tower of Horton Church was designed by the famous Vanbrugh, or else the tower was built by a master-mason who worked under Vanbrugh and had therefore imbibed much of his master’s style. Memorials which have survived are two grave slabs on the South side “without altar rails”. One, the inscription of which is almost unreadable, has, according to the historian John Hutchins, the words :-“Here liveth the body of Mr Daniel Debreau, minister of this Parish, who departs this life October 15th, aged 84 years, 1719”. The other grave slab is to a young woman aged 23, Ann Hopper; it bears the inscription;- “Here liveth interred the body of Ann Hopper, daughter and cohere of Mr Thomas Hopper, and Ann his wife, of the parish of St Botolph, Bishopsgate, London, who departed this life the 7th of April AD. 1680 acetate 23” THE CLOCK is the work of J Smith & Sons of Derby, it was a gift of Mr W.J Carter (who also gave the Village Pump) and was placed in the tower in 1900.

Verwood is a relatively small town in East Dorset, which is famous for the potteries which used the local clays. At the height of the town's pottery industry, there were over 30 kilns, however the last commercial pottery closed in 1952.

Hinton Martell is a lovely little village with a rather unusual Mediterranean-style fountain. The village was known as 'Hinetone', which means village of the monks, due to links with the monastery at Wimborne.