From Dorset’s second highest peak, wander into a landscape that echoes with tales of murder and mystery. Enjoy the wide open views of billowing fields as they dip to the Jurassic Coast then venture into the hidden valleys and wild forests once defended by the ancient Durotrigian tribe and walked by William Wordsworth. Discover the legend of the Bettiscombe Skull, causing haunting screams and slamming doors, along with the sad story of the last woman to be publicly hanged in the county, witnessed by Thomas Hardy and the inspiration for Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Return to the little mountain of Pilsdon, with its many mysterious earthworks scattered with sheep, as the sea rises on the horizon.
Distance: 4/5 miles/7km
Duration: 2-3 hours
Ability: Easy.
Max Height: 909ft.
Min Height: 480ft.
Total climb: 442ft.
Terrain: Tracks, paths and roads.
Map: OS Explorer 116 Lyme Regis and Bridport
Start Point: Lob Gate car park, Pilsdon Pen. (Postcode: DT6 5NX, Grid Reference: ST413009, What Three Words: sourcing.clubs.flagged).
How to Get There: From Broadwindsor, travel west on the B3164 for just short of two miles. Pilsdon Pen rises above with the carpark sitting on its southern edge.
Refreshments: None on route but nearby are The White Lion Inn in Broadwindsor or The New Inn in Stoke Abbott
Neighbouring walks: Laymore, Lewesdon Hill, Bettiscombe, Coney’s and Lambert’s Castle, and Thorncombe.
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