Stonebarrow Hill

Permanent Orienteering Course

established by the National Trust and Wimborne Orienteers, July 2015

 

Location

Stonebarrow Hill is 1km east of Charmouth on the National Trust Golden Cap Estate. It is a stunning stretch of the Jurassic Coast dropping down to the long distance South West Coast Path. There are magnificent views east to Golden Cap (the highest point on the south coast) and, on a clear day, to Portland.

Directions

From Bridport take the A35 west towards Honiton. From Axminster take the A35 east towards Bridport.
Turn off for Charmouth from the dual carriageway at grid ref SY 375 937.
Continue 500m. Where the road bends right, turn sharp left into Stonebarrow Lane.
Follow the single lane road uphill. Be aware it's steep and winding with occasional passing places.

Facilities

There is ample parking before or after the National Trust Shop, grid ref SY 383 933. Toilets are available in the NT enclosure when the shop is open.

Map

The area was mapped by Mike Kite (WIM) in 2015 using Ocad 8. The most recent update was autumn 2016.
The safety bearing is north (uphill) to the road.
Control markers are fixed to existing wooden structures - gates, posts etc.
Dense vegetation (dark green) is a variable mixture of gorse, bramble, thorn and bracken.
Rough open is generally runnable although some areas are covered by heavy bracken in summer.
Parts that are normally bracken are shown as undergrowth.
Vegetation boundaries are often well defined.
Keep away from cliff edges bordering the SW side of the map.

Courses

There are two Score courses downloadable as pdf files:

The Short Score course consists of 20 control sites on the fast heathland on the southern slopes of Stonebarrow Hill and the fields of Westhay valley to the south. The map scale is 1:5000.

The Long Score course consists of 25 controls. It descends further to the last footbridge over Westhay Water and also visits Chardown Hill to the east. The map scale is 1:7500.

In case of comments or queries, email Mike Kite mike.kite@hotmail.co.uk

 

Wimborne Orienteers thanks The National Trust for permission to map this part of the Golden Cap Estate and for their active support of orienteering in West Dorset.

 

Background photograph: Langdon Hill and Golden Cap viewed from Stonebarrow Hill