The Cerne Abbas Giant and Minterne Magna

Recommended by

Walk directions

With the road behind you, take the bridleway up the left side of the car park, which soon bends right and then left round some trees, and left again. Keep right at a fork, to follow the track uphill. At the top, turn left on a broad grassy track inside the woods.

After 0.25 miles (400m) fork right, down through the woods. At the bottom turn left along the road. In 200yds (183m) take the footpath up right, signed ‘Up Cerne’. Ignore the direction of the signpost (almost directly at Up Cerne Manor) and head up past the right-hand side of a line of trees then turn sharp left around them, aiming towards the right-hand of two white gates. Cross a road, pass to the right of this gate, and continue diagonally down the field, with Up Cerne Manor in view to the left. Pass to the right of a pond to rejoin the road. At its end bear right on the A352.

Soon cross to a car park for the best view of the Giant. Fork left on the road down to the village and turn left, signposted ‘Village Hall’. Turn right beside the river, signposted ‘Village Centre’. Continue downstream to Long Street. On passing the back entrance to Abbots Tearoom, ignore the footbridge to the left. Turn left, and left again in front of the New Inn, and left by the Royal Oak, to pass the church. Walk past The Pitchmarket to the abbey. Turn right into the churchyard and bear left. Go through a gate and take the left-hand path to the base of Giant’s Hill.

Cross a stile, then keep ahead up some steps. Now follow the path to the left, round the contour of the hill below the fence protecting the Cerne Giant. After another 0.25 miles (400m), the path slants uphill through thorny scrub. At the slope top, cross a stile by a fingerpost and slant left across a field to another fingerpost.

Here turn left, signed ‘Wessex Ridgeway’, and go down through a gate. Soon turn right through a galvanised gate and follow the bridleway path contouring around the hillside below fields. The path goes straight on through a gate inside the top edge of some woods to emerge at a gate near the road. Don’t go through, but turn left away from the road (signed ‘Minterne Magna’), through a field gate then along the left edge of a large field. At a gateway turn left on a gravel lane.

Directly above Minterne House, with a radio mast in sight ahead, turn left through a small gate signed ‘Minterne Magna’. Slant gently downhill away from the fence, to the left of two redundant metal gateposts mid-field. Bear left down to a gate, then head directly downhill, following fingerposts. Join a track, which runs out to the left of the church to return to the car park.

View all directions

Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Country paths and tracks, minor road, main road

Landscape - Head of Cerne Valley, scattered with old settlements

Dog friendliness - Lead essential on road stretches

Parking - Car park opposite church in Minterne Magna

Toilets en route - Cerne Abbas

Walks in Dorset Dog-friendly walks in Dorset

About the walk

TThe chalk outline of the Cerne Abbas Giant is so familiar that the reality, seen from the hillside opposite rather than above from the air, is a surprise. His proportions change at this shallower angle, and this of course is how he was designed to be seen – all 180ft (55m) of him. Quite when he...

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

Dorset is made up of rugged coastlines, high chalk downlands and a chain of picturesque villages and seaside towns that make up Britain’s Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, noted for its layers of shale and numerous fossils embedded in the rock. Hidden gems of Dorset can be found down winding, country lanes that lead to snug villages hidden from view.