Walk to the Huff Duff

Walk to the Huff Duff is a 4.3-mile circular route from Rockford Common car park, crossing Dockens Water to Ibsley Common. Allow 1½–2 hours. The payoff is an octagonal brick Second World War direction-finding station and a nearby bunker. Its crew tracked Allied aircraft by radio and sent homing signals. From the white trig point, look toward Martin Down and Cranborne Chase; on a clear day you can see Purbeck. Go for the wartime landmark and open heath, not a quick stop.

Cross Dockens Water by footbridge, pass Moyles Court School and take the Avon Valley Path uphill through horse paddocks. A boardwalk and footbridge cross a ditch before the path opens onto Ibsley Common. It rises gently over Little Chibden and Chibden Bottom, with a gravelly birch stretch. At the fork, keep Whitefield Plantation to your right. Continue past it after the Huff Duff to the white trig point, then descend over heath through Newlands Plantation and Rockford Common. Step back at the station to frame its low wall against the open heath.

Expect unmade grass paths, boardwalk and gravel; tracks can be very wet in winter. The route is moderate, with enough undulation to feel longer than the station visit alone. The free car park is gravel; Alice Lisle, Red Shoot and Royal Oak pubs are within two miles but off route. Dogs are welcome; keep them close around livestock and on a short lead March–July.