Arabian Dorset

Follow the trail past Lawrence of Arabia's home, Cloud's Hill & his final resting place

We first spend some time introducing you to the ponies and how to be safe around them before packing your bags onto them and setting off.

We walk past where Lawrence of Arabia was buried under his preferred name of T.E. Shaw. The funeral was well attended by statesmen and celebrities alike, the most notable of which was Winston Churchill, bizarrely enough was filmed – clips of the funeral procession can actually be seen online! We head towards St Nicolas Church which had all of it’s windows blown out by a bomb raid in 1940, but replaced them with the most gorgeous clear, etched glass which gives a light feel to the church and pays a respectful nod to the divine natural surroundings.

After some time here, we set off on the walk itself, crossing Moreton Ford (the ponies will walk through the ford, but feel free to take the bridge!) before heading up onto heath and through the plantation towards Cloud’s Hill. The hill itself is steep and sandy, very eroded in places so we let the ponies rest at the path below and those who wish to climb it may do so and catch a glimpse of Lawrence’s house. If you wish to visit the house, it is a National Trust property and easily reached either before or after your Ancient Trail.

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This is an excellent route for wildlife spotting – we walk through Sites of Special Scientific Interests and as well as regularly seeing buzzards, woodpeckers and kite you may also spot sand lizards, grass snakes, slow worms, kingfisher even osprey as they fly south to fish at Arne

This journey is approximately 3 - 5 km  and should take about 2 to 2.5 hours.