This walk passes through forest and over heathland, mainly on tracks, with one short section of road and going is easy underfoot. It's about four miles.

The walk starts from a lay-by half a mile south of Clouds Hill cottage on the road to Bovington Camp. Clouds Hill is three miles south of Bere Regis and is clearly signposted either from the B3390 or from the Bere Regis to Wool road. Park in the lay-by. And use the map OS Landranger 194 or OS Explorer Ol15 (GR 825905).

For refreshments, the Clouds Hill country pub is a half-mile (each way) detour from the route. It is a family-friendly, modern pub with a wide range of food, a children's play area and a beer garden. Tel: 01929 480206. There are also two tea-rooms en route at Moreton

T he wooded area of central Dorset around Bovington Camp, with the tiny village of Moreton and the isolated cottage of Clouds Hill, will always be assocated with one of Britain's most enigmatic heroes, T E Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia.

Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in South Wales in 1888, and later studied modern history at Jesus College, Oxford.

In 1909 he undertook a walking tour of what is today Syria and Palestine, working as an archaeologist and collecting material for a thesis on Crusader castles.

This area was then part of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, and during his 1,100-mile walk, Lawrence, as well as becoming fluent in Arabic, fell in love with the Arab people and culture, and identified with their struggle for freedom from their Turkish masters.

When World War I started, the Ottoman Empire allied itself with Germany, and Lawrence joined Military Intelligence and was posted to Cairo, where he was soon taking an active role in leading the Arab Revolt.

A charismatic personality with a great grasp of guerilla warfare, he united the Arab tribes, captured the vital port of Akaba in 1917, and then went on to lead the Arabs into Damascus in 1918.

Lawrence believed he had been empowered to promise the Arabs an independent country in Palestine once they had thrown out the Turks. He was unaware the British Government had promised the same territory to the Jews as a national homeland.

Lawrence, now a Lieutenant Colonel and well connected socially and politically, became increasingly frustrated with what he saw as the betrayal of the Arab cause.

In 1922, tired of public attention, he left the army and joined the RAF as an aircraftsman under the name of Ross. But his real identity was soon discovered and he joined the Tank Corps at Bovington, this time as Private T E Shaw, and bought Clouds Hill cottage as a retreat.

In 1935 he was involved in a fatal road accident on his way home from Bovington, and died five days later.

1.

As you begin the walk, take a moment to seek out the memorial to T E Lawrence in the corner of the layby. There are also information plaques about the tanks and other armoured vehicles that may be seen in the adjoining practice range.

From the layby, with your back to the road, turn left on to a footpath. Follow the footpath, parallel to the road and with the tank range on your right. In 100 yards, look for a headstone on the left, which marks the actual spot of Lawrence's fatal accident.

Follow the footpath through the trees for 600 yards, keeping the fence close on your right, to reach a road. Cross a stile on the left and turn left along the main road for 100 yards to a junction. Turn left for 50 yards to Clouds Hill.

The tiny cottage of Clouds Hill was originally built as a forester's cottage on the Moreton estate. Lawrence discovered it, semi-ruined, in 1923. He used it in the evenings and on weekends away from his duties at Bovington Camp. The cottage was lit by oil lamps and candles and Lawrence cooked over an open fire in the living room. It had no running water until the last year Lawrence lived there, but it provided him with seclusion and privacy.

It was here that he wrote The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, his account of the Arab campaign and his justification of his views and life, which was published in 1926. In early 1935, Lawrence left the RAF and retired to Clouds Hill, where he entertained his friends.

The cottage was given to the National Trust in 1938. It contains many of Lawrence's possessions, his books and records, as well as the everyday items he used in his almost monastic lifestyle. Clouds Hill is open mid-March to mid-October, Thursday to Sunday, from noon to 5pm. Telephone: 01929 405616.

2.

To continue the walk, return to the junction with the main road and turn left. Follow the verge along the side of the road for 400 yards. Opposite a side road, turn left into a track – follow this track for one mile through woods and heathland, ignoring all side turns. Cross a bridge, and 50 yards later fork right in front of a horse-barrier.

Follow the track to reach a long footbridge over the River Frome. Cross the bridge and keep ahead along the track to reach the lane at Moreton. Keep ahead for a few yards, then turn left into a pedestrian-only lane leading to the church of St Nicholas.

The funeral service of T E Lawrence was held in St Nicholas' church on May 21, 1935. Mourners included Winston Churchill, Lady Nancy Astor and the poet Siegried Sassoon, who was so incensed at the intrusion of the press that he took a swing at one photographer with his camera case. The church is well worth a visit. It is very light and airy and contains spectacular glass windows etched by the artist Lawrence Whistler.

After seeing the church, return to the lane and turn left for a few yards to reach a junction.

There are tea-rooms just on your right.

3.

Keep ahead along the main road for 100 yards to reach a gate on the right, leading into the churchyard. Lawrence's grave is at the far end of the path. Lawrence is buried under his own name, despite the fact that he had changed his name to T E Shaw by deed poll in 1925. He took the name Shaw in honour of another close friend of his, George Bernard Shaw.

The garden centre next door also has a tea-room.

To continue the walk, retrace your steps through Moreton and over the long footbridge. Return along the track, passing the horse-barrier on your right and crossing the small footbridge over the tributary stream. When 75 yards past the small footbridge, pass a footpath going off left, and in another 75 yards, turn right along a side-track.

4.

In 300 yards, fork left and follow the tree-lined track. Pass a house on the left and then follow the track through a horse-barrier into woods, and for a short distance through mature heathland. In the middle of the heath, turn left along a side track leading up into trees.

In 400 yards, at a waymark post on the left, fork right up a narrower, stonier path through trees. At the top of the slope keep ahead over a stile and then turn left. Follow the fenced path, marked with yellow posts, as it winds through trees.

To the right is a tank practice track. It is rare for this to be in use, but you may be lucky (or unlucky, depending on your point of view) and see tanks in operation.

Continue with the path, the tank course on your right, to reach the road opposite the start of the walk and return to your car. To go to the Clouds Hill pub, turn right and walk down the road for half a mile, staying close to the verge.

Walks into History: Dorset, by John Wilks, is published by Countryside Books priced £7.99. For information, visit www.countrysidebooks.co.uk