Sturminster Newton

Sturminster Newton is a small market town on the River Stour in north Dorset, in the middle of the Blackmore Vale, a large dairy-farming region. The 2021 census counted 4,408 residents. The old stone bridge replaced a ford and was widened from 12 to 18 feet in 1820.

The mill beside the river has stood here since at least 1016 and went back to making flour commercially in 2020. It is a 16th-century building with machinery driven by a 1904 water turbine. The mill and the town museum are run by the Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust. The mill opens on set days from late March to the end of September and the museum keeps its own hours, so check sturminsternewton-museum.co.uk for current days. The weekly Monday market, weather permitting, dates from a royal charter of 1219. The cattle market that once stood alongside it closed in 1998. The Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival brings cheese makers, artisan food, crafts and live music to a site next to Durant Field on the second full weekend of September; in 2026 that was 12 and 13 September.

Thomas Hardy lived in the town from 1876 to 1878 and wrote The Return of the Native during those years.

Walkers have two long routes to hand. The Stour Valley Way runs for about 64 miles from Stourton in Wiltshire to the coast near Christchurch, passing through the town, and the North Dorset Trailway follows an old railway line for 9 miles to Blandford Forum. The trailway is flat and surfaced, with views of Hambledon Hill and the river on the way.