Welcome to St Mary’s Hill Travel Plan Site
Hello! And welcome to your Travel Plan Website. As your Travel Plan Coordinators, we are here to help you with travelling in your local area, by providing the best options for you with up-to-date travel information for accessing services, local facilities and public transport. This page is designed for you as residents and we want you to find the best way to travel.
On this page, you can find information on:
- Your Local Area
- Bus Routes and Timetables
- Train Services and Station Facilities
- Cycling and Travelling Sustainably
- Groups in your Local Area
- Local Travel News
This page was last updated: November 2022
Your Local Area
Your new home at St Mary’s Hill is well located to a number of local facilities and services, and approximately 1.3km, a 16-minute walk or 5-minute cycle, from Blandford Forum Town Centre.
The town centre has a number of leisure opportunities including Stour Meadows Park, Bryanston Park, Blandford Town Museum and Fashion Museum, Blandford Forum Rugby Football Club and Milldown Nature Reserve. Blandford Leisure Centre is located approximately 2.3km from St Mary’s Hill and provides a wide range of sporting facilities.
Your new home is conveniently located 500m (6-minute) walk from St Mary’s Primary School. The Blandford Secondary School is located 2.2km (9-minute cycle) from St Mary’s Hill and can be accessed via the X8 bus service.
Your closest healthcare facilities are located within walkable distances. Whitecliff Surgery is a 18-minute walk, Blandford Community Hospital is a 21-minute walk and Boots Pharmacy is a 15-minute walk. In addition to this, East Street Dental Practice is located within a 15-minute walk from St Mary’s Hill.
Bus Routes and Timetables
Regular bus services provide St Mary’s Hill with excellent links to facilities and services in the local and wider surrounding area, as well as to further public transport services. The bus operators in your area are Morebus, South West Coaches, First Buses and Damory Coaches.
The local area is served by the X3, X8, X10, X12 and 187 bus routes providing regular services to a range of destinations including Blandford St Mary, Blandford Forum, Dorchester, Weymouth, Poole, Sturminster Newton and Sturminster Marshall.
The nearest bus stop to St Mary’s Hill for the X8 route is the Moose Hall stop on Bournemouth Road adjacent to the eastern boundary of the site. For all other routes your closest bus stops are the Tesco’s and Pigeon Close bus stop located approximately 2-3 minutes walk in the northwesterly direction along Bournemouth Road.
Why take the bus?
X10 – Yeovil – Milborne Port – Henstridge – Sturminster Newton – Blandford (School & College Service)
X12 – Blandford – Weymouth via Puddletown, Dorchester (5 services per day)
X3 – Blandford Forum – Shaftesbury (6 services per day)
187 – Blandford – Winterborne Kingston – Bere Regis – Dorchester (3 services per day)
Train Services and Station Facilities
Poole Train Station is located approximately 20km southeast of your home at St Mary’s Hill; accessible within a 40-minute bus journey on the X8 route.
From Poole Train Station, South Western Railways services run on a frequent basis to key destinations such as Bournemouth (15 mins), Weymouth (45 mins), Dorchester (35 mins) and London Waterloo via Bournemouth (2.5h).
Purchasing a Network Railcard will give you up to a 1/3 off rail fares and will allow you to travel across 16 counties (inc. London). Visit www.network-railcard.co.uk
If you’re a keen cyclist and fancy getting the train, then plan your journey with PlusBike. It’s a free resource tool with all the information you need to plan a stress free journey, click here.
Cycling and Travelling Sustainably
You can cycle into Blanford Forum Town Centre in approximately 5-minutes which is an incredibly quick and safe cycle route.
As part of the development proposals at St Mary’s Hill, the National Cycle Network (NCN) route 250 situated on Ward’s Drove will be extended directly past the site to link onto NCN route 250 at Blandford St Mary roundabout, providing a direct cycle route to the North Dorset Trailway Network route.
Your Local Bike Shop
Offcamber, Blanford
Based in Blandford Forum Town Centre and only a 16-minute walk or 5-minute cycle away. They have display bikes, accessories, and a workshop helping you to ensure your bike is safe.
Network Railcards
Network Railcards will give you up to a 1/3 off rail fares and will allow you to travel across 16 counties (inc. London). A variety of railcards which provide discounted train travel tickets can be purchased including:
- 16-17 Saver
- 16-25 Railcard
- 26-30 Railcard
- Disabled Persons Railcard
- Family and Friends Railcard
- Network Railcard
- Senior Railcard
- Two together Railcard
- Veterans Railcard
- HM Forces Railcard
For more information on the right railcard for you or to purchase one, please visit the website here.
Top Tips to Travel Sustainably
1.Plan Your Journey – Make use of journey planning applications to check for convenient and sustainable travel options.
2. Walk and Cycle – Walking and cycling are the most sustainable modes of transport and are also a good way to keep fit and healthy.
3. Make Low Emissions a Priority – When purchasing a vehicle or choosing another mode of transport always consider fuel efficiencies and the amount of pollution it will emit.
4. Consider Car sharing- It is a great way to share the cost of fuel and car parking while also giving you time to relax on your daily commute.
5. Think Ahead – Bundle a number of small errands into one trip to save time and fuel.
6. Have Local Adventures – Next time you’re planning an outing choose somewhere local where it is possible to walk or cycle to.
7. Consider Public Transport – This is a great way to get around while reducing your fuel efficiency and lowering congestion on the local road network.
Groups in Your Local Area
Blanford Health Walks
Blandford Health Walks is run by a group of volunteers and offers a main weekly walk lasting 45-75 minutes every Wednesday, amongst a range of other weekly walks. It’s ideal if you are new to walking or recovering from an illness, or even if you just want to improve your fitness and socialise! Details about the starting locations as well as further information can be found here on the website.
Ramblers Association
Come and be part of Britain’s biggest walking charity. The North Dorset group of the Ramblers Association is one of 7 groups in Dorset. Visit www.ramblers.org.uk/north-dorsetfor information on when the next walks are.
Offcamber Cycle Club
Offer club training rides, MTB cross country racing, recreational rides and road racing to adults (over 16). Become a member at www.offcamber.co.uk
Dorset Cyclists Network
DCN promotes cycling as environmentally-friendly transport as it improves health, reduces air pollution and helps to relieve road congestion. They offer regular rides and events in Blandford and work with local authorities to try and improve conditions for cyclists. For more information visit www.dcn.org.uk.
Local Travel News
If you are hoping to avoid traffic and being late to your destination, we recommend accessing the following useful links to keep you up to date with any road closures or traffic accidents that could impact your journey.
The AA will show you incidents that have occurred within the local area. Helpful for letting you know which routes to avoid before you set off on your journey! Click here: https://www.theaa.com/route-planner/traffic-news
Dorset Live Traffic and Travel: https://www.dorset.live/all-about/traffic-travel
Cycle Streets: https://www.cyclestreets.net/journey/
Paul Basham Associates Travel Plan 