Ashley Heath and Moors Valley Country Park

Moors Valley Country Park is located on Horton Road in Ashley Heath, Dorset. If you are looking for a hotel in Ashley Heath, the park is a useful landmark for planning your day: woodland and waterside landscapes meet a range of routes and leisure activities here. Options include the Moors Lake Audio Trail, the Railway, and play and cycling activities. Depending on whether you are planning a waterside walk, a ride or an activity in the forest, different experiences take centre stage.

Landscape and getting there

The park’s landscapes include coniferous and broadleaf woodland, as well as lakes, ponds, rivers, meadows and heathland. These habitats support a wide variety of wildlife. The surroundings are not limited to woodland: bodies of water and open spaces also shape the character of Moors Valley.

The access route is signposted from the A31 at Ashley Heath and via access roads from West Moors. If access junctions change, the signposting may also change. Check the access information shortly before travelling by car.

Around Moors Lake: Audio Trail and Railway

The Moors Lake Audio Trail is a self-guided activity. It starts at the Visitor Centre, follows a route around Moors Lake and is about three-quarters of a mile long. There are seven marked stopping points along the route. This clearly sets out both the route and the number of stops.

The Moors Valley Railway offers a different way to experience the area. Its journey is just over a mile long and runs alongside Moors Lake, through tunnels, past a wooded slope and around the play areas in a spiral loop. The Railway runs year-round at weekends and during Dorset school holidays, as well as daily from June to mid-September. As seasonal timetables may change, it is advisable to check the timetable before your visit.

Play and leisure activities

Go Ape Moors Valley offers three high ropes courses for different age groups and levels of excitement. The course layout may change. At Adventure Valley Mini Golf, the 18-hole course winds through grassland, woodland and wetland habitats. The Adventure Valley Mini Land Rover experience is aimed at children, who can take the wheel themselves for an off-road driving activity.

The one-mile Play Trail includes ten wooden play structures. Along with the Mini Land Rover experience, it is an activity specifically for children; the mini golf course adds a separate 18-hole activity to the selection. For planning purposes, it helps to consider the different formats: courses, play structures, an off-road drive or a round of mini golf each offer a different focus.

Cycling and orienteering in the forest

You can ride at Watchmoor Bike Park for free. The facilities include green beginner circuits, blue lines and red jump tracks. The facilities may change over time; if you are planning a specific ride, check the latest information about the park.

Moors Valley Cycle Hire offers adult and children’s bikes in various sizes, as well as child seats, trailers and tag-along bikes. There is also a permanent orienteering course in the forest, with several courses for different ability levels. So, alongside the Bike Park, there is a separate orienteering activity and several bike hire options.

These differences can be a practical guide when choosing where to stay: the Trail and Railway, each with its own route, are the main attractions around Moors Lake; the forest offers cycling and orienteering, while the play activities include different options for children.

Discover more destinations: Weymouth, Dorchester, Marnhull, Horton, Yetminster, Thorncombe, Iwerne Minster, Burton Bradstock.

For the wider travel overview: Dorset.