WALKS IN DORSET at TRENT, NETHER COMPTON & OVER COMPTON (INCLUDING THE POTATO CAVE!)

In this episode of my series “Walks in Dorset”, I take a 5.5 mile circular walk from the village of Trent which is located about 2.5 miles North West of Sherborne & 4 miles East of Yeovil. Once again I am accompanied by my Whippet, Logan.

I parked my car at the Trent village hall and began my walk with a wander through the village – which is full of beautiful houses & cottages. After visiting the church of St Andrews and passing close by Trent Manor House (famous for the role it played in the escape of Charles II after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651), I made my way into the countryside – initially heading for the Old Mill.

Upon reaching the mill, I followed the course of the Trent Brook to the village of Nether Compton – another quite stunning settlement with an amazing village green.

I continued Southwards to my next destination – the tiny village of Over Compton, where I visited the church of St Michael.

At this point, I headed East through some woods and came across the mysterious “Potato Cave” (also known as Tidy Cave). The cave dates to the Elizabethan period and was used by Sir Walter Raleigh (who lived at Sherborne Castle) to store spuds …. they needed to be kept in a cool, dark place to prevent them from turning green & becoming poisonous.

I then headed North along a couple of old tracks (Kitton Lane & Oatcroft Lane) before joining a section of the Monarch's Way – which took me back to Trent.

My final destination would have been the Rose & Crown pub at Trent but sadly it was closed due to refurbishments & wasn't going to open for another month (May 2024)!

Information Sources: Wikipedia, Dorset Churches, Historic England, British History Online & Dorset OPC.

Historic Maps NLS Maps 'Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland'  https://maps.nls.uk/index.html

Map courtesy of Google Maps.
Aerial pictures courtesy of Google Maps.
Music from the Youtube Audio library.

For further videos in the series, please go to:    / @daveford  
My Facebook page is:   / davescountrysidewalks  

I use an INSTA360 ACE PRO Action Camera & a Rode microphone (either a “Shotgun” or a Rode Wireless Go II) together with a Canon Powershot SX530 HS.