힌튼 최고의 워킹 & 하이킹 경로

nice stopping off point, too the many bridleways and tracks in this area..

Brilliant dog walk alongside the stream perfect for a cool dip in the summer

Stunning avenue of trees perfect for a photo or two x

A place for a rest if you need it

There is evidence that a flour mill was present here since Doomsday times, the flour mill was replaced by a paper mill in 1720. This continued to work until around 2002 when it was converted into accommodation. The mill is well situated with a mill race taken from the River Allen.

The gothic, five-storey, brick tower was built in 1750 by Lord of Horton Manor, Humphrey Sturt, who was an architect and a Dorset MP. The reason for its construction is not known but it’s possible Sturt planned to use it as an observatory for star gazing. At 43 metres high (140 feet) it was once claimed to be the tallest no-religious building in Britain. It’s now a Grade II* Listed Building. Visitors used to be able to enter the tower and look up to the top, as the floors had fallen away. Vodafone now use the tower for their masts and have undertaken restoration work. Their mobile phone signal masts are fixed to the sides, near the top of the tower. In the 1960s a cock fighting scene in the film The Mayor of Casterbridge was filmed at Horton Tower starring Terence Stamp and Julie Christie.

Hinton Martell is a lovely little village with a rather unusual Mediterranean-style fountain. The village was known as 'Hinetone', which means village of the monks, due to links with the monastery at Wimborne.

The pathway leading to Batchelor's lane from the Tower is easy to cycle past. Heading South East from the Tower (downhill), as soon as you see a hedge in the left-hand field, you'll notice the path entrance directly opposite on your right.