On a rare sunny day between storms our band of 18 plus doggy set off across the pretty watermeadows of the river Stour passing  old watermills to reach the perfume garden at Keynston Mill (now sadly closed).

We continued around an abandoned vineyard to explore the ancient medieval church at Tarrant Abbey (with its medieval wall paintings and graves).

A short stroll along horse meadows and corn fields led us back down to the river at Spetisbury where we explored the medieval Crawford bridge and the pretty houses with gardens tumbling down to the river.

Climbing up the embankment to reach the course of the Somerset & Dorset Railway we split into two groups. The adventurous group continued uphill to explore iron age rings whilst the others continued to stroll along the old railway track.

We met up again at Spetisbury Station (now a museum and community garden) for our picnic, then further along the railway to our start point. We finished an enjoyable summer's day with a welcome pint at the nearby Charlton Inn.