Hell Lane and Dorset's Hidden Holloways

Imagine going back through time, into parts of England where the ancient landscape protects and nurtures our flora and fauna, where we can walk in the footsteps of our ancestors free from a concrete barrier between our feet and theirs. These are the holloways of Britain.

My family has been coming to Dorset for decades, and my parents retired to this area nigh on a dozen years ago, but none of us knew of this little piece of Dorset, an ancient sunken byway, running through the Symondsbury estate located just outside of Bridport. It is divided by title only into Shute's Lane and the more atmospherically named Hell Lane. Holloways have made the news in the past couple of years as Natural England is undertaking a project to record sunken lanes across the UK and to create a 3D map. Their estimate is that Dorset has about 40 of the 1,000 miles of Britain's sunken lanes.

As defined by Rural Historia, 'The formation of a holloway requires a combination of soft rock, a sloping terrain, consistent rainfall, and the necessity for people to travel from one point to another.' The term 'holloway' is said to come from the Anglo-Saxon 'hola-weg' which means 'sunken road', although the origins of these pathways may date back to the Iron Age and possibly earlier. Beginning as tracks for herders and farmers, the byways were created over the centuries by the combination of rainfall, the passage of animals, people and traffic such as carts. Other human activity such as the construction of ditches alongside the paths further contributed to their deepening. They are more prevalent in the south of England due to the softer chalk and sandstone rocks. While some ended up paved over and forgotten in all but name (like the London district of Holloway), others were 'forgotten' in a more fortunate way and overgrown or left as hiking trails.

Dorset has a notable collection of holloways, due in part to the soft sandstone that is more easily eroded. Archaeologists suggest that the 1.3 miles of Hell Lane and Shute's Lane first existed as a route between the settlements of Symondsbury and North Chideock. The sandstone was used for building projects in the area so it is further surmised that the heavy, stone-laden carts also contributed to the wearing down of the road. It may also have been a pilgrimage route and a passage for transporting goods to and from ships in West Bay harbour.

We set out on our own pilgrimage to find the holloway on a fine, sunny morning in late April. The first sign that we were coming close to something mysterious was the ancient hedgerow that guarded the lanes below. What perhaps (I am guessing) began as pollarded shrubs had grown into a defense of trees melded together, bringing to mind a vision of Ents and Entwives reunited. From the edge of the sunny field, we slipped through a gate and entered a shaded, cavernous world. The broadening of the sunken lane makes the trees above close in on it creating a hidden, hushed walkway, like entering a green cathedral aisle. Natural, lateral erosion of the sides of the lane has exposed the roots of trees, giving them an even more other-worldly atmosphere.

In actuality, this is not a flight of fancy. The tree canopy helps to keep the temperature stable and create a microclimate in the lanes, which also means that the holloways are home to a wide variety of flora and fauna that give us a glimpse into Britain's ancient woodlands. On our late April trip we saw bluebells, cowslips, and ferns in abundance. Rare plants such as naval wort and hart's-tongue ferns flourish here. The lanes also provide cover, shelter and safe corridors for fauna. Threatened bird species such as the dunnock and bullfinch have been spotted in the Symondsbury holloways.

Yet, the defining feature of holloways is that they are man made, as Rural Historia puts it, 'a testament to the ancient relationship between humans and the landscape'. For the archeologist or anthropologist, they are a window into early travel and communications networks. Traverse the walkway and imagine an Iron-Age farmer herding a flock upland in the summer, an Anglo-Saxon driving a cart laden with his harvest, a Medieval pilgrim walking from church to church, or a knight making his way to the coast to embark on a crusade.

Modern day travellers have left their own testimony to the lure and power of the Symonsdbury holloways in the carvings that occur mainly at the top end (where it approaches Colmer's Hill). They range from elaborate and artistic creations to the simple and crude. Some express their connection to the ancestors that walked these paths in prehistoric and Celtic-inspired designs, while others have left a modern stamp in the form of icons such as Homer Simpson. It may be disappointing to know that none have been dated earlier than the 1970s. Still, that was history to my nine year old. There may have been earlier carvings, but the soft sandstone canvas means these would have been worn away long ago. Even Homer Simpson, then, is not destined to be captured for eternity.

If this has wetted your appetite, you can access Hell Lane and Shute's Lane from the Symondsbury Estate, which is a few minutes' drive outside Bridport. Stop in at the visitor centre on the estate to pick up a cheap map or more detailed guide and verbal instructions as to how to get to the holloways. They also have a Magical Markings trail for children that I can attest was fun for adults too. Following the estate trails will bring you to an entrance part way up Shute's Lane - go left and there is a short-ish walk to the road, but go right to wend your way upwards towards the carvings. You can use their map to take a circular trail that leads you through the lanes and around the hills, or just wander up and down the holloways (as we did). Guides warn you that the paths can often be very wet, if not underwater. When we went, the weather had been dry but the clay path was still pretty sticky, so I can believe it would not take a lot of rain to be a tough trek. I can only guess that this is what earned it the name 'Hell Lane' as to me its atmosphere was more heavenly than hellish.

Rural Historia has a good overview of the history of holloways, and I am also indebted for a lot of my information to the website of the Symondsbury Estate. As you'll see, the etsate offers a lot for a day out besides hiking, including accommodation, rural workshops, eating, and boutique shopping (I wasn't paid to advertise the estate - let's just say my bank balance was a little lighter after the trip).

Credit: All photos are my own.