Around Blandford Forum Tourist Information

The Great Dorset Steam Fair Blandford Forum

The Great Dorset Steam Fair is reputed to be the world's biggest steam and vintage vehicle preservation event. It has been held annually for forty years and attracts 200,000 people from all over the world! On a 200 acre site north east of Blandford Forum you can see working steam engines of all shapes and sizes and fantastic vintage vehicles including motorcycles, buses and old farm tractors and machinery. There are also heavy horse competitions, fairground rides.

There is also a whole music festival within the event with several stages where talent shows and live music is performed by a range of artists and tribute acts. There are also over one thousand traders and two thousand exhibitors at the event!

Camping is popular and with real ale aplenty you'll want to make sure you're not staying far away. A Food Hall offers a selection of locally made bread, cakes, pastries, fruit, jams, cheeses, sausages and pies. There is a tractor driver "shuttle bus" in operation to help you get around the huge site and you can buy tickets online. Check the weblink right.

The location of the site if using satellite navigation is postcode is DT11 8HX. Check out the link right for a wealth of information on the event and how to book your tickets.

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Countryside and Walks around Blandford Forum

Blandford Forum is also in an excellent location if you want to explore the Dorset countryside as it lies between the downlands and chalk plateaux of the Cranborne Chase to the east and the Dorset Downs to the west. The chalk grassland that grows in these areas is incredibly rich in flower and butterfly species.

Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty lies to the west of the town and covers most of the county. These are excellent for country walks. The Dorset AONB website has downloadable leaflets on walks and bike rides in the area. "Walking the North Winterborne" has details of circular walks around the River Winterborne to the south west of Blandford.

There are several riverside walks along the River Stour. Coarse fishing is also popular here particularly on the stretch between Blandford Forum and Christchurch.

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Iron Age Hill Forts Around Blandford Forum

The Downs around Blandford have yielded a huge array of ancient finds. South east of Blandford is Badbury Rings, an Iron Age hillfort that dates from 800 BC. It was in use until the Romans occupied it and four Bronze Age barrows indicate it was occupied even earlier. It is a seven hectare fort encircled by three concentric ramparts in the form of circular ditches each of which is forty feet high. It is believed that Badbury Rings is one of the settlements used by the Durotriges tribe who were also linked to the largest hill fort in Britain, Maiden Castle near Dorchester.

Three miles north west of Blandford Forum is Hod Hill that also has a large Iron Age hill fort, again thought to have been fortified by the Durotriges. It dates from 500 BC and archaeological investigations have revealed evidence of roundhouse huts and Roman iron ballista bolts which would have been used in battle.

Hambledon Hill prehistoric hill fort on the other hand shows no signs of ever being subject to invasion. This lies five miles north of Blandford Forum in the Blackmore Vale. The earliest sign of life was in the Neolithic period when the hill would have been wooded.

Hambledon Hill is also a National Nature Reserve due to its fantastic chalk grassland. Flowering species include milkwort, salad burnet, horseshoe vetch, squinancywort, pyramidal orchid and wild thyme. This means it is also a great place to see butterflies including dingy skipper, grizzled skipper, chalkhill blue and adonis blue. Check the weblink right for more information of now to get to the reserve.

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