Having the afternoon off work and child in the care of live in grandparents I decided I could do with a bit of an outing to just be by myself and see some sights on my list. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and felt great to get out 🙂
The Bridge!
Made my way to Sturminster Marshall first and headed to White Mill, unfortunately due to COVID the actual mill is still closed so that will have to be an adventure for another time. So instead I parked in the White Mill car park, which as a large part of it is closed off will only fit a handful of cars currently. A short stroll along the road and I came to white mill bridge. I have driven over it before but never stopped to really look at it. What a beautiful bridge it is too, not just to look at but also look from, the views of the river stour are a wonderful sight of nature.
Look alongside and you will see a cast iron plaque detailing that ‘Any person wilfully injuring any part of this county bridge will be guilty of felony and upon conviction liable to be transported for life by the court’ meaning that you vandalise this bridge you will find yourself with a one way ticket to Australia! I wouldn’t try it nowadays though, don’t think Australia is where you will be going!
Make sure to cross over into the fields opposite to get some outstanding views of the bridge in its entirety.
At 210 foot long and 12 foot wide it is said to be the oldest bridge in dorset, with references in documents to such a bridge in this place adjacent to the mill in 1175. Though the stonework currently dates from 16th century but the timber foundations have been standing since the 12th century.
The Ice Cream!
Just up the road from White Mill you will find ‘Barford ice Cream’. I drove past this place a few months ago but it was closed, recently reopened and finding myself craving an ice cream this is where I headed next.
Originally using their own herd of 250 cows this family run business has been making ice cream since 2006 using their own unique methods. After selling their cows they now source their milk from a herd just a short distance away in Sturminster marshall.
Not only does this place offer a delightful selection of flavours (and it caters for diabetics and gluten free needs) it also offers some interchangeable more interesting flavours such as Rhubarb and ginger Sorbet or even omce upon a time they made black pepper ice cream! I stuck with good old Honey comb crunch 🙂
It is not only the ice cream that is amazing, they also have huge beautiful landscape gardens to enjoy it in whilst still managing to social distance.
I managed to sit, have an ice cream, read part of my book and enjoy the gardens. Note this place closes end of September for the season.
The River!
Ok, so there was a river earlier too, in fact the same river, but you know it works for sections 🙂
I want to come back and have a good walk around here but little time today and more a visit for nostalgias sake. We used to come her to The Eyebridge when I was little for a paddle and swim, some wonderful memories. A lot quieter than it is in the summer but still popular with the paddle boarders. It is just as beautiful as I remember
Wandering_dorset 