Dorsetshire Gap

It may not be the Arlberg or the Brenner, but the Dorsetshire Gap is the closest the county has to a mountain pass. It is where one of the ancient routes from the south breaks through the chalk escarpment into the Blackmore Vale. The gap is also a crossroads, as here the ridgeway track runs from west to east. Hidden deep in the greenwood a mile from any road, the deep-cut paths are evidence of the countless hooves and feet that have passed this way over the centuries.

For at least fifty years, visitors have been able to record their impressions of the place in an exercise book kept originally in a biscuit tin, now in a sturdy plastic box.

Nearest postcode: DT2 7RN or DT2 7PJ
OS reference: ST743031
What3words: spoon.mailboxes.tokens