Our verdict
Handy if you're already passing on the A354, but it's a roadside stretch rather than a peaceful ramble — mind the traffic noise and keep dogs well back from the verge.
The chalk ridge the A354 climbs between Dorchester and Weymouth, following the line of a Roman road and, grimly, the site of a mass Viking execution burial found in a former quarry beside it. Open access land either side of the road gives wide views back over the Wey valley.