Coming to Blandford Forum on Saturday 18th April 2026
Meet and greet Roger and Scarlet at 11:30am at the Langton Road car park DT11 7EN (M&S)
On Tuesday, 14th April 2026, Dorset-based land agent Roger Sewill will set out on a three-week journey across the county, walking 200 miles with his Dales Pony, Scarlet.
The Dorset Horse Hike will link 30 of Dorset’s Iron Age hillforts, following ancient tracks and rights of way.
Many of these iconic landmarks have stood in the landscape for more than 3,000 years, and the route uses them as natural beacons to shape a unique cross-country journey around the county, passing through the countryside and communities that surround them.
The walk will begin at Lyscombe, Dorset Wildlife Trust’s new nature reserve, a few miles north east of Dorchester, and will pass other Trust nature reserves, including Kingcombe Meadows near Maiden Newton and Wild Woodbury near Bere Regis.
Along the route, Roger will visit working farms, including a traditional dairy where Dorset Blue Vinny cheese is still produced, and will follow historic packhorse ways across the county. One of the highlights will be the crossing of the medieval packhorse bridge at Fivehead Neville, which has carried travellers and goods for more than 800 years.
The journey passes through the former wartime airfield at Tarrant Rushton, sites linked to Dorset’s early Christian history, traditional farming country and a ford crossing of the River Stour, reflecting the many layers that have shaped the county. At its heart is a simple idea: to experience the countryside slowly, at ground level, and to reconnect with the places that have shaped Dorset for millennia.
Scarlet, a traditional Dales Pony, a native British breed listed as Rare by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, will carry the equipment needed for the journey. The breed evolved in the Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines, where these hardy ponies were used for centuries as working pack animals, and later played a role in military transport during the First and Second World Wars. Reflecting this heritage, Roger and Scarlet will visit The Tank Museum at Bovington, where a public meet-and-greet event is planned, and media will be invited to attend.
At the end of the journey, Roger and Scarlet will pause beneath the sycamore tree at Tolpuddle, where the Tolpuddle Martyrs first met. Now more than 300 years old, the tree provides a quiet and fitting conclusion at one of Dorset’s most significant historic sites.
Throughout the walk, Roger will be capturing a continuous ground-level visual record of the Dorset countryside using time-lapse photography. The focus is on the landscape itself, creating a long-term archive showing the county as it is today. The material will be donated to local and national archives for future generations.
The Dorset Horse Hike follows Roger’s previous 200-mile journey, The Long Way Home, when he walked from Surrey to Dorset with Scarlet. That experience is the subject of his forthcoming book and inspired the wider Country Journey project.
The 2026 walk will also be filmed as a documentary in collaboration with Bournemouth University’s Media Department.
Roger said:
“I spend much of my working life with farmers and rural businesses, but walking with Scarlet changes your relationship with the countryside. A pack horse sets the pace, and you become more aware of the present. You begin to see how places are connected by the land itself. You also notice the small things along the way, the birdsong, the insects, the quiet signs of wildlife that are so easily missed. That’s why I am pleased to support Dorset Wildlife Trust and the work they do with farmers, landowners and communities to care for Dorset’s landscapes and wildlife, and to give something back to the places that have shaped this county for so long.”
As he journeys 200 miles between the hillforts with his horse Scarlet, Roger Sewill is fundraising for Dorset Wildlife Trust, through www.justgiving.com/page/country-journey, to help restore habitats, protect wildlife and strengthen conservation across the county.
To find out more information, please visit: www.country-journey.com
Instagram: @a_country_journey (www.instagram.com/a_country_journey)
Last modified: April 7, 2026
