In April 2026, Scarlet and I embarked on a three-week, 200-mile horse hike across Dorset, walking to 30 Iron Age hillforts. Travelling slowly between these ancient landmarks, many of which have stood for over 3,000 years, allowed me to experience the changing countryside and the communities within it in a very different way.

Over the course of the journey, we crossed chalk downland, river valleys, heathland, woodland and the Dorset coast. Walking day after day with Scarlet meant experiencing these changes gradually, rather than simply arriving at them. I began to understand why settlements, tracks, farms and woodlands were where they were.

As with The Long Way Home, the people we encountered became an important part of the journey.

The journey also supported nature recovery work across Dorset through Dorset Wildlife Trust.

Parts of the horse hike were filmed in collaboration with Bournemouth University Media School, documenting both the journey and my developing understanding of the landscape around us.