Footscape Walking Holidays and Heritage Tours 2009

Here are the choices that we can offer you:

• A scheduled walking holiday (fixed dates, with full support services) - self-guided
• An independent walking holiday (choose your own dates) - self-guided
• A scheduled heritage tour (fixed dates) - guided/accompanied
• A custom walking holiday or tour - guided/accompanied or self-guided.

If you want background information on any of the following holidays, please see our links page.

Scheduled walking holidays - self-guided

Our scheduled self-guided walking holidays (hiking tours) and short breaks offer a lot of flexibility, with the security of a full support service. Please look at our 2009 schedule for the dates. On all three trails, you can do the full distance each day or less, since our vehicle is available to drop you off or collect you anywhere along the route within reason.

You will be accommodated in a hotel, inn or B&B (please see Your accommodation below) in a beautiful village or small town in the area.

We will pick you up each morning in our vehicle and drive you to the trail, mostly along small roads in beautiful countryside. At the end of the day, you will be driven back to your accommodation. This way, you do not have to pack and unpack every day, and you can get to know an attractive village or town quite well by staying there for several nights.

On long trails, we will normally accommodate you in one place for the first half and then transfer you to different accommodation for the second half.

Jurassic Coast - (4 or 8 nights) is a linear trail along Dorset’s spectacular Jurassic Coast including stretches along the South West Coast Path and some picturesque inland loops.

Inland Heritage - (4 or 8 nights) is a linear inland trail through glorious Dorset countryside, isolated historic sites and unspoilt villages. This is perfect for those who want to get off the beaten track and experience the timelessness of genuine English rural life and landscapes.

Thomas Hardy - (3 nights) is a shorter and easier walk through beautiful countryside and villages in the footsteps of Thomas Hardy, visiting evocative sites associated with his life and work. This short break can be taken as a self-guided walk or as an accompanied tour (see below), offering the opportunity to people of different ages or walking ability to go on the same holiday together. It can also be combined with our Dorset Gardens tour (see below) to make a relaxing 5 night holiday.

Independent walking holidays - self-guided

Our independent hiking tours along the Jurassic Coast and in Dorset’s rural interior cater specifically to people who would prefer to be free to follow their own schedule, although back-up support is there, if needed. They are designed so that no transportation is required from Footscape. For this reason, our independent holidays are less expensive than our scheduled ones.

On all independent holidays, except for our inn to inn hiking tours, you will stay in one accommodation for the duration of your holiday - in a village or town with easy access to your daily walks. Most of the days' walks are flexible in length.

You can choose your own dates, subject to the availability of accommodation. Best to book early.

Purbeck - 2 to 7+ nights. This is a series of five trails set in a visually stunning part of Dorset, including the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast, inland ridges, open heath and unspoilt villages.

Cerne Abbas - 2 to 4+ nights. The three trails include ancient ridgeways, attractive villages and pubs and the historic town of Dorchester. You will stay in beautiful Cerne Abbas, one of the most sought after villages in England - famous for its huge chalk giant.

Weymouth - 2 to 4+ nights. Three beautiful and very different trails offer dramatic coastal scenery (including Durdle Door), safe beaches, a famous iron-age hill fort and much else besides. The Georgian seaside resort of Weymouth will be the site of the 2012 Sailing Olympics.

Abbotsbury - 2 to 6+ nights. This is one of the most historic and attractive villages in Dorset, set back from Chesil Beach and surrounded by gorgeous countryside. The four diverse trails take you in both directions along the Jurassic Coast and into its beautiful hinterland.

Lyme Regis - 2 to 7 nights. Lyme Regis, location of the book and film The French Lieutenant's Woman and of part of Jane Austen's Persuasion, is an old coastal town - full of character - on the border with Devon. Four days of walks include some of the most dramatic parts of the South West Coast Path, as well as delightful inland trails through mixed woodland and over iron-age hill forts.

Inn to Inn walking holidays. This is a simple formula: you walk from one place to the next on a linear trail, and your luggage is transferred each day for you. You can book an inn to inn hike along our Jurassic Coast West trail or our Inland Heritage trail:

Inn to Inn - Jurassic Coast West - (2 to 8+ nights). This follows the first (western) half of our Jurassic Coast trail (above), but offers some additional stretches of rugged coastline on the "Isle" of Portland.

Inn to inn_- Inland Heritage - (2 to 8+ nights). This is along our Inland Heritage trail (above) from Shaftesury to Dorchester, through the best of rural Dorset.

Heritage Tours - guided/accompanied

For all three of the following tours, please look at our 2009 schedule for the dates.

Thomas Hardy - as described further above, except that you can do as much or as little walking as you wish without missing out on any of the sites, since our vehicle is at your disposal all day. This is a short weekend break of 2 days (3 nights).

Dorset Gardens - is also a short break of 2 days (3 nights). You are driven through beautiful countryside mostly along small lanes to four exceptional gardens in Dorset. There are also some delightful short walks (optional) on the tour.

These two tours can be taken on their own or consecutively as a longer holiday (5 nights).

Sherborne - is a weekend break of 2 nights and is centred on the beautiful and historical town of Sherborne. The guided walking tour (approximately 5 miles) includes Sherborne Abbey, the Old and “New” Castles, both inhabited at one time by Sir Walter Raleigh, and the town's museum. You will be accommodated in the heart of the town.

Custom holidays

If you would like to book a custom walking holiday or heritage tour, organised exclusively for you and based on your requirements, please visit custom holidays.

Your accommodation

It’s impossible to have a great holiday, if you are disappointed with your accommodation.

A high standard of accommodation is one of the hallmarks of footscape. Its hotels, inns and B&Bs have been hand-picked for their character, service, location and good food. All rooms have ensuite or private bath and/or shower.

If you are on your own or would like a room to yourself, you will usually be given a single occupancy of a double or twin room.

In most cases you can choose between two types of accommodation to suit your taste and pocket (A1 & A2). On two holidays, there is a very luxurious and charming alternative for all or part of your stay (A+). The choice you make will determine the cost of your holiday:

We may sometimes propose accommodation of a standard and price that is between A1 and A2, classified as A2+

Some places accept dogs, often with restrictions or with a small supplementary charge. Please tell us on the short enquiry form if you intend to bring a dog with you, so that we can try to find suitable accommodation.

If you do not need accommodation, but would like to book a footscape holiday, please contact us.

Footscape Trail Guides

For each of our walking holidays, we will give you a footscape Trail Guide for easy reference on your hike. Each Trail Guide is a compact illustrated booklet providing detailed walking directions, times and distances, degrees of difficulty and practical information on pubs, restaurants and village shops.

It also gives a flavour of places along your route by describing the history, legends or oddball personalities associated with them. These passages are mostly extracts from the work of others, with the titles and authors’ names listed in the endnotes. Some of these descriptions were written a century or more ago, and provide an interesting view of the concerns and attitudes of the age.

Footscape for Children

Footscape makes a point of encouraging families with children to try a walking holiday or active short break with us. We provide some special services to make the experience as child-friendly as possible.

Hiking is a healthy and interesting alternative to a more traditional family holiday, and many children have had a lot of fun on one or other of our scheduled or independent tours. Please have a look at footscape for children for more information.

To know more about us, please go to footscape.