From Dorset’s second highest peak, wander into the landscape that echoes with tales of murder and mystery. Enjoy wide open views of billowing fields as they dip to the Jurassic Coastline then venture into the hidden valleys and wild forests which were defended by the Durotrigian tribe and walked by Wordsworth. Discover the legend of … Continue reading Pilsdon Pen
From a golden shingle corner of Chesil Beach, climb up to the peak of Bind Barrow, complete with panoramic views of Lyme Bay. The empty beach and wide blue sea played a crucial role in the D-Day landings, with American troops scaling the cliffs for training and the sea turning black with boats on the … Continue reading Burton Bradstock
Explore the patchwork fields of the Marshwood Vale. Dive deep into the narrow valleys, carved out of the soft slopes and dotted with 17th century thatched farmhouses, crumbling barns and stone walls. Rise up to the ridge for views across the Vale to the sea, bordered inland by ancient hillforts. Skim the southern slopes of … Continue reading Salwayash
Explore Dorset’s far 'Wild West', land that was last to be claimed from the forest and is still just as wild. Pass avenues of trees that grow in the gardens of the old monastery, now Forde Abbey. Cross little valleys and explore ancient woodland to the hamlet of Holditch. Discover Holditch Court, with the ivy … Continue reading Forde Abbey and Holditch
From the shingle and fossil lined beach at Seatown make your way inland to discover the medieval Chideock Castle earthworks, marked with a cross to celebrate the martyrs. Follow a route that echos the coast of Great Britain on to Dorset’s most famous Holloway of Hells Lane. Hidden almost underground it would have been filled … Continue reading Seatown, Chideock and Golden Cap
Exploring three Iron Age hilforts that surround the Marshwood Vale. Towering above the landscape the views stretch for miles. In working with The Times Newspaper a route through Fishponds Bottom is available. Distance: From a mile to as long as you like. Both hillforts are open access areas and so no route is defined.Time: At … Continue reading Coney’s Castle, Lambert’s Castle and Pilsdon Pen.
A hillfort is a type of earthwork once used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. Hillforts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly at the start of the first millennium BC, some later used in the post-Roman period. The fortification usually … Continue reading Dorset Hillforts
