Hambledon Hill Iron Age hill fort

Hambledon Hill Iron Age hill fort

Highlight • Viewpoint

Hambledon Hill Iron Age hill fort

Hiking

4.9

(53)

Running

5.0

(1)

This Highlight is in a protected area

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Dorset National Landscape

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Location: Child Okeford, North Dorset, Dorset, South West England, England, United Kingdom

Tips

May 7, 2020

Hiking

Hambledon Hill is hailed as one of the best-preserved Iron Age hill forts in Britain and is one of the most iconic Neolithic landscapes in Europe. Towering 623 feet (190 m) above the Blackmore Vale and the River Stour, you are afforded breathtaking views which stretch into the neighbouring counties of Wiltshire and Somerset. The site, which is managed by the National Trust, is also considered one of the best examples of an unimproved calcareous grassland in England and is home to many rare plant and animal species. For more information, visit: nationaltrust.org.uk/hambledon-hill.

MCW73

July 6, 2024

Hiking

The hill is now a National Nature Reserve (NNR) with common plants including milkwort, salad burnet, horseshoe vetch, squinancywort, pyramidal orchid and wild thyme. Rarer species include bastard toadflax, meadow saxifrage, early gentian and dwarf sedge. Butterflies include dingy skipper, grizzled skipper, chalkhill blue and Adonis blue.

In August 2014, Hambledon Hill fort was acquired by the National Trust for £450,000. The money to buy the hill had come from a Natural England grant and a legacy gift left to benefit Dorset countryside. The hillfort is a Scheduled Monument, as is the adjacent Neolithic causewayed camp.

mikejwheatley

May 31, 2022

Hiking

Amazing views over the Stour and Lwerne valleys, as well as Blackmore Vale and the Fontmell & Melbury Downs. Well worth a hike and picnic on a sunny day. You can even ride your bike up when dry.