Cranborne Chase Pictures
Copyright Cranborne Chase Pictures 2005-2008©
Cranborne Chase is near the south coast of England some 90 miles south west of London, with Salisbury cathedral, Shaftesbury, and prehistoric Stonehenge all within 25 miles.
Cranborne Chase, is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and straddles Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire, and is an area rich in pre-historic monuments, hill forts and ancient burial mounds. It was once a medieval royal hunting ground remaining almost untouched by mechanised agriculture until the mid-19th century, and is an archaeological gem with priceless Iron Age and Roman remains.
The six thousand year old Dorset Cursus still remains visible in parts. This banked causeway, that runs across the Chase, remains a mystery, but it seems to have some religious significance as it connects some of the surrounding ancient burial grounds. Much later in time but still two thousand years old, runs an unusual and straight Roman road 15 miles from Salisbury to Babury Rings, and in parts is raised six feet above the surrounding countryside.
The village of Cranborne is the site of a former hunting lodge with Cranborne Manor dating back to the Middle Ages, when King John and his entourage made regular hunting trips on the Chase.
Cranborne Chase and the surrounding area has often been the setting for many of the Thomas Hardy novels in which it is named ‘Chaseborough’, and many years later the village was also popular with The Great War poet Rupert Brooke.
At the eastern boundary of Cranborne Chase lies the New Forest and its woodlands and ponies bring delight to visitors all year round.
