A winter’s walk in Tisbury

By Emma Kirkup

I love getting the opportunity to don my walking boots and explore the county and I had the opportunity to do just that on a recent visit to Tisbury.

As I approached the village, the countryside was shrouded in a winter’s mist and I was hoping that it wouldn’t ruin my chances of taking some photographs of the area.

There’s a real buzz about the village and even on a cold, January day, there were plenty of locals around popping in and out of the independent shops, giving friendly hellos as the passed and going about their daily errands.

I started my visit off with a visit to the parish church of St John’s which is home to a 4,000 year old yew tree. This time, the church was open as well so I made a quick visit inside before I heard the bell practice begin. I hadn’t realised until I got home and read more about the village that Rudyard Kipling’s parents are also buried in the churchyard here.

Walking back towards the train station, I then came back on myself up a county lane passing horses and frosty foliage and the river. By now, I was getting quite cold as the temperature was only around 1c at this point so I decided to warm up a bit by making a visit to Beatons Tearooms, on Tisbury’s High Street.

The tearoom was busy with locals enjoying a catch up over a warming drink and it was nice to see the fire roaring within. There are an extensive choice of teas on offer here and I love the décor of the tearooms too, all inspired by Cecil Beaton. I opted to have a cream tea and loved how the scones were still warm when they were presented to me, just what you need on a cold day!

Nicely toasty, I made a visit to some of the shops nearby. It’s lovely to see a butchers, fishmongers and florist as well as a couple of gift shops and a local bottle shop too.
I then travelled through the village towards The Beckford Arms, a nearby pub (with accommodation) that has an excellent reputation in the local area.

The Beckford Arms sits within the Fonthill Estate and avid movie fans may recognise the lake here as the location for the film Chocolat. The lake was eerily quiet with the faint sound of the birds flying about, I was even lucky enough to spot a couple of herons and a group of white egrets. I made a mental note to myself to return here in different seasons as it’s such a peaceful place.

Tisbury is a short train journey from Salisbury, with trains running regularly as it sits on the mainline between Exeter and London. There are a couple of accommodation options available in the village including Hare Lodge B&B or base yourself in one of the nearby villages of the Cranborne Chase and you can enjoy a wealth of walking opportunities in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

There’s also the nearby ruins of Old Wardour Castle, an English Heritage property, and the recently opened Messums art gallery in the old Tithe barn.