Woolly says – I was super excited for the weekend and was keeping my paws crossed for sunshine as we headed south to have some family time with Nuncle Les and Nanty Carys.

The drive to Dorset went quickly as Handsome Jack, Jo, Zoe and I caught up on news and plans for our time away, fish and chips greeted our arrival and after an evening of all things family I was looking forward to the next day.

With the sunshine obliging my wishes we had woken early and following my favourite breakfast of boiled egg and soldiers the four of us left Nanty Carys and Nuncle Les to have a rest from us and headed out.

Nanty Carys had provided me with some information on a place that looked well worth a visit with the added bonus that it was only ten minutes from her home. Driving through the country roads we spotted our destination before we turned off and found parking. With its grey stonework sitting on the undulating grass, it did look rather wonderful, small but wonderful, a bit like me!

Knowlton Circles (also known as Knowlton Henges or Knowlton Rings) are a complex of henges and earthworks in Knowlton, Dorset. The henge enclosing Knowlton Church is the best known and best preserved, but there are at least two other henges in the vicinity as well as numerous round barrows. This oval enclosure surrounded by a ditch and earthwork bank, measuring 106 metres by 94 metres with 10 metres wide ditches provided a dramatic setting for the church in the middle.

Knowlton church symbolises the transition from pagan to Christian worship. Early Christian activity at Knowlton is indicated by a mid to late Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery which was discovered to the east of Church Henge in 1958. Excavations located sixteen burials within chalk-cut graves, some aligned east-west. The earliest parts of the church are the 12th century chancel and nave and there are 15th and 18th century additions and alterations. In the 18th century the roof fell in and the church was abandoned.

We followed the top of the henge round with Handsome Jack enjoying the ups and downs of the site, 3000 years of history under paw was impressive and I tried to image the people of the time living in the area, hunting for food and striking fires to cook and keep warm.

Entering the church area I immediately spotted what appeared to be a plinth in one corner, worn away over the years of weather it had faced I wondered what it had seen in the years it had been there. The construction seemed to be of small stones packed together with larger stones for the arches and bases.

The small bell tower had lovely, shaped windows and a view directly to the sky. One area showed some much more modern brickwork where conservation had been needed.

A small find but a glorious one, well satisfied with the start to the day we headed towards the town of Wimborne.

Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne) is a market town in Dorset lying on the River Stour and the River Allen, 5 miles (8 km) north of Poole, on the Dorset Heaths, the name Wimborne derives from the Old English ‘winnburna’ meaning ‘stream by a pasture’. It has one of the best collections of 15th, 16th and 17^th century buildings in Dorset. It had also been home to some notable people including, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, Robert Fripp, guitarist in prog rock band King Crimson and husband of Toyah Wilcox and Thomas Hardy and was where he wrote A Pair of Blue Eyes in 1873.

Parking up we crossed the river bridge before walking through a small alleyway that led us to the main square. The buildings were impressive, but I was on a mission to find the highlight of the town, the Minister itself.

Most of the building dates to the 12th century, although it was restored substantially by the Victorians. The Minster is dedicated to St Cuthburga, sister of Ina King of Wessex. She founded a Benedictine Nunnery there in 705 AD. The greater part of the church was built by the Normans between 1120 and 1180, it was flourishing in the 13th century, when a spire was built and in the 14th century an early clock installed. Around this time St Margaret’s Chapel and Alms houses were built, and services are still held at the Chapel. In 1318 Edward II declared the Minster a Royal Peculiar which exempted it from all diocesan jurisdictions. The choir used to wear scarlet robes, a legacy of this ‘Peculiar’ which lasted until 1846. The spire collapsed around 1600 and was not rebuilt.

 With the blue skies and sun beaming down it made for a spectacular view as we entered the gardens. With its two square towers it looked rather grand, the minster bells donged as we arrived and high above us, I could just spy a solider who raised his arm and dropped in time with the bells.

Inside was a delight of wooden ceilings and high arches.

Every window had beautiful stained glass, and it was hard to know what to look at first.

The pulpit was a carving delight, added in 1868 it depicted Jesus teaching his followers.

We spotted a beautiful memorial showing a gentleman lying on his side before peeking into the crypt below.

More stained glass greeted our eyes along with the story of the man in the wall, although he was actually in a wooden box not in the wall at all.

Wonderful, tiled floors with the light reflecting through the glass took us into the centre of the minister allowing us to see into the top of the one tower.

With its blue and white décor, it was a wonderful creation.

Every where we looked there was another item to admire.

A small doorway led us to a spiral staircase, which Handsome Jack bounced up (he wasn’t so keen on the descent) leading us up to the chained library, the second largest such library in the UK, the biggest being in Hereford Cathedral which we had visited a few years ago.

Heading back into the sunshine we walked around the outside admiring the building and finding a few more curiosities.

After a quick cup of coffee in the square basking in the sunshine, we headed to the next port of call passing the town hall and some thatched cottages which the area is full of.

A short walk took us to Walford Mill, built between 1760 and 1770, it had undergone many changes in both use and design, always playing a key role in servicing the local community within Wimborne Minster, something that lives on today in supporting the creative industry.

In its early life, along with corn grinding, ‘tucking’ was added to the Mill’s capabilities. A process of cleaning cloth that had previously been done by beating or walking on the surface of the material. Wimborne was heavily involved in the wool trade and in moving the ‘tucking’ process to the Mill, efficiency was improved and output increased.  At some time between 1880 and 1905 the Mill was extended and a chimney was added to serve a boiler and steam engine. The water wheels were proving somewhat challenging to use during drier periods where the water levels were low, and the Steam engine and turbines were added as an additional source of energy. It ceased operation as a working mill around 1966, from this date it was used successively as a coal yard, builders’ yard and a furniture showroom. The freehold interest in the site throughout this period, however, remained with a Mr Bankes and on his death in 1982 the Mill, together with the remainder of the estate which included Kingston Lacy House, Bradbury Rings and Corfe Castle was bequeathed to the National Trust.

A small mill office had been turned into an artist’s studio overlooking the river while a wooden building had been added to provide café facilities. Inside the mill was a hive of activity with artists of all kinds display their work and showing you how they had made some of their wares.

A glassed area of floor allowed us to peer through to the river below where the wheel mills would have once turned.

With time running out on our carpark ticket we strolled back through the town ready to head back to spend more time with Nanty Carys and Nuncle Les.