Bridport walk of the month: Shipton Gorge loop

With the winter weather coming in, we have decided to change the walk of the week to walk of the month.

Each first Friday of the month we will be sharing a circular walk in and around our local area for our newsletter subscribers to enjoy. We use the OS Map app, which is very useful if you are out walking.

This month's walk is a loop from Walditch to Shipton Gorge and back and is around 4 miles, taking around one hour and 45 minutes. It is steep and uneven underfoot in places.

Start on Lower Walditch Lane, passing the Howard Road turning on your left. Follow the road until you get to a T-junction and turn left. Keep going until you reach a footpath to Shipton Gorge on your right. Go up there.

Follow the path up hill until you get to the end of field and can only go left or right. Turn left and then go over the stile and continue straight down the track.

When the track meets another, turn left. Keep going until you come out onto a road, opposite Port Lane, and turn left.

Stay on this road, going past houses, until you get to Bonscombe Lane on your left. Go down it. Follow the road and you will come to a house in front of you. Go round to the left, following the sign to Bonscombe Farm, turning right to go down the path next to the house. when the path comes out onto a road, turn right and walk down it.

When it comes to another road, turn left. Stay on this road until you reach a road on your right, the one you came up near the start of the walk, and go down there, following it back to the start.

This walk is just a suggestion, you can of course take any different routes you wish to make it more direct or make it longer. Always take extra care where the ground is uneven or wet.

Please leave gates as you find them - if you opened it, close it.

Please keep dogs on leads around livestock.