A353 Preston / Osmington Footpath

Several Osmington residents mentioned that there used to be a footpath from Sutton Poyntz towards Osmington so we set out to find it …

Footpath starts at Sutton Poyntz junction with A353; even here, it is overgrown.

Natural line of hedge has moved out; it gets worse the further you go towards Osmington.

Kerbing exists all the way up the hill, but vanishes under soil etc in most places. Inside the kerbing, there is 3’ of footpath the entire way to Northdown Farm and possibly to White Horse Farm. The soil overgrowing the kerb reduces the width of the road by up to 50cm on both sides.

We discovered three drains completely blocked; the second (above right) was barely visible and the third (below) was completely covered.

This is the ‘correct’ side to walk down towards Preston. Pedestrians are in the road with no verge to escape to.

Hedge isn’t just out to the kerb, it goes to the white lines!

Trimmed by the X53 …

Old, unused signpost is just inside the hidden footpath and demonstrates the encroachment over the years.

Looking for the pavement …

Depth of soil above the footpath …

Footpath/right of way by Northdown Farm entrance throws you onto the road down a steep grassy bank via a broken stile. We think there might have been steps under there at some point.

One trip and you could end up under a car.

Above, encroachment before White Horse Farm. Below, it improves for a while.

Towards Osmington, kerbs partially covered and verge uneven with steep drops in the hedge at places.

Where’s the kerb? There it is!

Encroachment and extremely poor visibility. If you’ve been walking this stretch and a bus or lorry comes hurtling into the village, you’ll certainly know about it. The traffic tends not to slow down until after this entrance.