This winter's walk around the village of Chilmark and the Monarch's Way had a profound effect on me. Perhaps it was due to the history of the place, its wonderful views and the fact that the stone used in the building of Salisbury Cathedral was quarried from this place. The area is well worth a visit.

I’ve long wanted to do a walk in this area as it’s somewhere I used to cycle a lot. Our bike club would often ride up the long climb through Gare Hill and a hush would descend on the group, not just because we were struggling for breath, but because it always felt slightly eerie – there never seemed to be any birdsong. The countryside here is quite different to much of the rest of Wiltshire. No big open skies but deep valleys and forest.

An escapist quest to walk along the length of the Shire Rack the ancient boundary that exists between Wiltshire and Dorset. A mystical area of the Cranborne Chase National Landscape where creatures and heroes of myths and legends must surely still exist.

A multi-seasonal walk through the beautiful Coombe Valley whilst route checking for the Chase and Chalke Partnership and Cranborne Chase NL.