Smitten Corner Trail Junction – Hardy Monument loop from Abbotsbury

Hiking trails & Routes

Smitten Corner Trail Junction – Hardy Monument loop from Abbotsbury

Moderate

hikers

Smitten Corner Trail Junction – Hardy Monument loop from Abbotsbury

03:13

11.0km

290m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: July 18, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Dorset National Landscape

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

229 m

William Weare and the Haunted Pews of St Peter's Church

Highlight • Religious Site

The Grave of William Weare
William Weare, who died in 1675, was a committed Royalist during the English Civil War. According to local legend, he harbored a peculiar death wish: he desired to be buried "neither in the church nor outside it."
A long time ago, during a fierce winter storm, the church bells began to ring completely on their own in the dead of night. The local vicar, thinking it was pranksters, marched up to the heavy wooden doors. But when he pushed them open, the church was completely empty, bathed in an eerie, pale blue light. Sitting in the pews were not people, but the shimmering phantoms of old smugglers who had used the churchyard to hide their illegal casks of brandy years before. As the vicar gasped, the phantom crew raised a silent toast to the altar, and the bells abruptly stopped. When the sun rose, the local blacksmith went to check the bell tower and found the massive iron clappers rusted solid—meaning they couldn't have made a sound by human hands.

Tip by

1.14 km

Metal Fish Sculpture, Dorset National Landscape

Highlight • Structure

1.15 km

Portesham Rocket Sculpture at Rocket Quarry

Highlight • Structure

1.81 km

View of Dorset National Landscape

Highlight • Natural

From the ridge enjoy classic views across the Dorset chalk grassland with wildflowers and gorse sprinkling colour across the landscape. On a clear day you can see for miles.

Tip by

7.91 km

View of Hardy Monument and the Coast

Highlight • Viewpoint

The long climb to the monument from Martinstown is rewarded with 360 views of Black Down and the coast.

Tip by

8.00 km

Smitten Corner Trail Junction

Highlight • Viewpoint

Smitten Corner has a rather lovely name for what is essentially just a small car park. There's much more than meets the eye though, as so many footpaths, bridleways and other ways seem to converge here, you're quite spoilt for choice for adventures.

Hardy's Monument lies mere moments up the road, as do far-reaching views, pockets of woodland, a sculpture area and Neolithic burial chambers.

Tip by

8.39 km

Hardy Monument

Highlight • Monument

This striking tower stands to the north of the Isle of Portland and offers fantastic 360 degree views of Dorset and the English Channel. Although the novelist Thomas Hardy lived in the county and used many local settings in his books, this is actually a monument to a very different Thomas Hardy; the vice-admiral and flag captain to Admiral Lord Nelson.

The monument is managed by the National Trust and, for a small fee, you can walk the stairs inside to reach the viewing tower at the top. There's a car park here, some benches and often an ice cream van.

Tip by

11.0 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types