Visit Sixpenny Handley Places

Welcome to Visit Sixpenny Handley Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Sixpenny Handley

  

Sixpenny Handley Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Sixpenny Handley

---

Sixpenny Handley history

---

On Woodcutts Common in the north of the parish (west-northwest of the village) is the site of a 4-acre Iron Age and Romano-British settlement. It was excavated by General Pitt Rivers in 1884–5.

The Great Fire of Handley 1892

Handley suffered a major fire in May 1892 after nearly two hundred people were left homeless. Well-wishers subsequently sent gifts to aid the villagers. So much clothing was donated that a man could be identified as being from Handley because he wore two or even three waistcoats.

Sixpenny Handley economy & business

Tourism

Sixpenny Handley is located on the B3081 road which has been described as providing “a magical driving experience” Cranborne Chase hosts a number of festivals including The Great Dorset Steam Fair and Larmer Tree Festival. The village’s isolated position makes it popular with walkers and star gazers.

Sixpenny Handley toponymy

Sixpenny Handley is derived from the Old English hēan “high” and lēage “clearing” The village was originally known as Handley, or Handley St Mary. Sixpenn was first recorded in 932 as Seaxpenn, and means “hill of the Saxons”

Sixpenny Handley geography / climate

Sixpenny Handley village is sited between 75 and 95 metres (246 and 312 ft) above sea-level in a shallow valley on the dip slope of the chalk uplands of Cranborne Chase. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Blandford Forum and 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Salisbury in Wiltshire. The highest land in the parish, at over 155 metres (509 ft), is in the north, where in places the chalk is overlain by deposits of clay with flint.

You can visit Sixpenny Handley places with Walkfo Sixpenny Handley to hear history at Sixpenny Handley’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Sixpenny Handley has 12 places to visit in our interactive Sixpenny Handley map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Sixpenny Handley, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Sixpenny Handley places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Sixpenny Handley & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 12 audio facts unique to Sixpenny Handley places in an interactive Sixpenny Handley map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Sixpenny Handley Places Map
12 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

---

–

Sixpenny Handley historic spots	Sixpenny Handley tourist destinations	Sixpenny Handley plaques	Sixpenny Handley geographic features
Walkfo Sixpenny Handley tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Sixpenny Handley

  

Best Sixpenny Handley places to visit

---

Sixpenny Handley has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Sixpenny Handley’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Sixpenny Handley’s information audio spots:

Woodcutts Settlement Woodcutts Settlement is an archaeological site of the late Iron Age and Romano-British period on Cranborne Chase, England. It is situated about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the hamlet of Woodcuttts, and about 1.75 miles north-west of the village of Sixpenny Handley, in Dorset.

Garston Wood Garston Wood is a 34-hectare (84-acre) woodland nature reserve on the border between Dorset and Wiltshire in England. The reserve is owned by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to protect species living in the region.

Wor Barrow Wor Barrow is a Neolithic long barrow on Cranborne Chase, about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Sixpenny Handley in Dorset. Its excavation by Augustus Pitt Rivers in 1893–1894 described as “an important event in the study of British archaeology”

Oakley Down Barrow Cemetery Oakley Down Barrow Cemetery is a group of Bronze Age round barrows on Cranborne Chase, about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the village of Sixpenny Handley in Dorset.

Dorset Cursus The Dorset Cursus is a Neolithic cursus monument that spans across 10 km (6¼ miles) of the chalk downland of Cranborne Chase in east Dorset. Its extreme length makes it a notable example of this class of linear earthwork; it is better interpreted as a pair of same-length cursus constructed end to end.

Visit Sixpenny Handley plaques