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List of hills of Dorset

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This is a list of hills in Dorset. Many of these hills are important historical, archaeological and nature conservation sites, as well as popular hiking and tourist destinations in the county of Dorset in southern England.

Colour key

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Class Prominence
Marilyns 150 – 599 m
HuMPs 100 – 149 m
TuMPs 30 – 99 m
Unclassified 0 – 29 m

The table is colour-coded based on the classification or "listing" of the hill. The two types that occur in Dorset are Marilyns, HuMPs and TuMPs, listings based on topographical prominence. "Prominence" correlates strongly with the subjective significance of a summit. Peaks with low prominences are either subsidiary tops of a higher summit or relatively insignificant independent summits. Peaks with high prominences tend to be the highest points around and likely to have extraordinary views. A Marilyn is a hill with a prominence of at least 150 metres or about 500 feet.[1] A "HuMP" (the acronym comes from "Hundred Metre Prominence) is a hill with a prominence of at least 100 but less than 150 metres.[2] In this table Marilyns are in beige and HuMPs in lilac. The term "sub-Marilyn" or "sub-HuMP" is used, e.g. in the online Database of British and Irish Hills to indicate hills that fall just below the threshold. To qualify for inclusion, hills must either be 200 metres or higher with a prominence of at least 30 metres, below 200 metres with a prominence of at least 90 metres (the threshold for a sub-HuMP) or be in some other way notable. For further information see the Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles and the individual articles on Marilyns, HuMPs and TuMPs. By way of contrast, see also the article listing Tumps (a traditional term meaning a hillock, mound, barrow or tumulus).

The county top (i.e. highest point) of Poole unitary authority is not strictly in the county of Dorset, but is included for interest because it falls within Dorset's historic county boundary.

List of hills

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Hill Height (m) Prom. (m) Grid ref. Class Parent Range/Region Remarks Image
Lewesdon Hill[3] 279 185 ST437012 Marilyn Staple Hill, Somerset Marshwood & Powerstock Vales Dorset's county top.

One of Dorset's 4 Marilyns.
Iron Age hill fort.

Pilsdon Pen[4] 277 83 ST413011 TuMP Lewesdon Hill Marshwood & Powerstock Vales Dorset's second highest summit.

For many years thought to be Dorset's highest point.
Iron Age hill fort.

Bulbarrow Hill[3] 274 141 ST777055 HuMP,

sub-Marilyn

Lewesdon Hill Dorset Downs Rawlsbury Camp, Iron Age hill fort.

Paragliding site.

Telegraph Hill[3] 267 121 ST644050 HuMP Lewesdon Hill Dorset Downs Paragliding site.
Melbury Hill[5]
(Melbury Beacon[6][7]) 		263 66 ST873197[8] TuMP Win Green[9] Cranborne Chase Near Melbury Abbas.

Trig point on summit
National Trust wood on western flank above A 350.

Breeze Hill[6][5][10] 262 20 ST899204[5] Unclassified Win Green[5] Cranborne Chase[11] Striking ridgeline above Zig Zag Hill near Melbury Abbas

with sweeping views over Blackmore Vale
W (Dorset) end of Win Green ridge

Lyscombe Hill[3] 262 100 ST738029 HuMP Telegraph Hill Dorset Downs Hill fort on Nettlecombe Tout (N spur)
Watts Hill[7] 262 69 ST673036 TuMP Lewesdon Hill Dorset Downs Just above Minterne Parva and E of the A352 Dorchester to Middlemarsh road
Lambert's Castle Hill[3] 258 121 SY370988 HuMP Lewesdon Hill Blackdowns Site of Lambert's Castle - Iron Age hill fort
Bell Hill[6][7] 258 50 ST800082[8] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Dorset Downs Nr Turnworth, 5 miles W of Blandford Forum.
Paragliding site.
Eggardon Hill[3][5] 252 117 SY546944 HuMP Telegraph Hill Marshwood & Powerstock Vales Western extremity of the South Dorset Downs.

Hill fort
Paragliding site

Toller Down[4] 252 96 SY518031 [3] TuMP, sub-HuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Dorset Downs Just SW of A356 near Corscombe
Ball Hill[6][7] 251[5] 74 ST721034[8] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Dorset Downs Above Folly (paragliding site), 9 miles N of Dorchester.
Dogbury Hill[6][10] 248 13 ST660051[5] Unclassified Watts Hill[5] Blackmore Vale Hill fort site nr Minterne Magna on the A 352

NW spur of Watts Hill.

Black Down[7] 242 78 SY611876[5] TuMP Lewesdon Hill South Dorset Downs Site of the Hardy Monument.
2 km NE of Portesham.
West Hill[6][7] 224 63 ST566042[5] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Dorset Downs SW of Evershot, near the A 37
Coney's Castle[6][10] 222 17 SY371979 Unclassified Lambert's Castle Hill Blackdowns Iron Age hill fort at SY372975 (ca. 210 m[5] or 205 m[6]) Coney's Castle - geograph.org.uk - 475966.jpg
Drackenorth[12][7] 221 60 SY532985[7] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Dorset Downs 3 km NNE of Powerstock on the Jubilee Trail
Rampisham Down[6][10] 219 8 ST544014 [5] Unclassified Toller Down Dorset Downs By A 356, about 12 km NW of Dorchester.

SE extension of Toller Down ridge.
Former transmission site for BBC World Service.

Bubb Down Hill[6][5][7] 217 40 ST592060[5] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Dorset Downs Just E of A 37, about 10 km S of Yeovil
Abbotsbury Castle[6][10] 215 20 SY555866[13] Unclassified Black Down South Dorset Downs Iron Age hill fort site.
Trig point at summit.

Part of Black Down ridge.

Warren Hill[7] 215 51 SY526994[8] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Dorset Downs Location of Hooke Park
Blackdown Hill[7] 215 34 ST395038[8] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Blackdown Hills 8 km SW of Crewkerne, just NW of Pilsdon Pen
Conegar Hill[7] 214 47 ST439032[8] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Yeovil Scarplands 500 m N of Broadwindsor
Waddon Hill[7] 213 35 ST448015[8] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Marshwood & Powerstock Vales Site of old Roman fort (Waddon Hill Fort, 207 m[6]) near Beaminster.
Payne's Down[7] 211 62 ST385012[8] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Marshwood & Powerstock Vales 10 km ENE of Axminster
Bookham Knoll[7] 211 43 ST702046[8] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] Dorset Downs 1 km SE of Buckland Newton
Duncliffe Hill[4] 210 96 ST826226[3] TuMP, sub-HuMP Win Green[3] Blackmore Vale Iron Age hill fort site.
Swyre Head[3] 208 150 SY934784 sub-Marilyn, HuMP, TuMP, Clem Lewesdon Hill Purbeck Hills On Dorset coast E of Durdle Door.
Tumulus on summit.
Paragliding site.
Hardown Hill[3] 207 154 SY405942 Marilyn Lewesdon Hill Marshwood & Powerstock Vales One of Dorset's 4 Marilyns.
Seaborough Hill[7] 204 80 ST429071[8] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[8] Yeovil Scarplands 2 km SW of Crewkerne on the Somerset-Dorset border
Nine Barrow Down[3] 199 152 SZ007811 Marilyn Lewesdon Hill Purbeck Hills One of Dorset's 4 Marilyns.
Views of Poole Harbour.
Ridgeway Hill[3][5] 199 107 SY914817 HuMP Swyre Head Purbeck Hills
Chardown Hill[7] 194 68 SY396936 TuMP Hardown Hill South Dorset Downs Dorset coast, E of Charmouth.

Stonebarrow Hill is its SW spur.

Creech Barrow Hill[14][7] 193 38 SY921823 TuMP Swyre Head Dorset Heaths One of Dorset's most distinctive landmarks.[14]

Highest point of the Heaths.
Largest Tertiary hill in England.[15]
Site of round barrow.[16]

Hambledon Hill[4] 192 131 ST845125 HuMP Win Green[3] Cranborne Chase Prehistoric hill fort site.
Tumulus on summit.
Golden Cap[6][7] 191 63 SY384934 TuMP Hardown Hill[9] South Dorset Downs Highest point on the south coast of England.
Chaldon Hill[4] 178 90 SY783812[5] (est.) sub-HuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] South Dorset Downs Dorset coast, W of Swyre Head and Lulworth Cove.
Tumulus at summit.
Bindon Hill[4] 168 94 SY839802 TuMP, sub-HuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] South Dorset Downs Dorset coast, immediately E of Lulworth Cove
The Verne[3] 147 140 SY692737 HuMP Lewesdon Hill Isle of Portland Summit occupied by HM Prison, Verne
Maiden Castle[7] 134 39 SY671884[8] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] South Dorset Downs Largest hill fort in Britain
2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) south west of Dorchester.
Hambury Tout[5][7] 134 35 SY815802[5] TuMP Lewesdon Hill[9] South Dorset Downs Dorset coast, immediately W of Lulworth Cove.
Most popular route to Durdle Door.
Trig point at summit; tumuli nearby.
OS Landranger map gives ht as "134 (138)" metres.
Colmer's Hill[5] 127 35 SY440936[5] TuMP Hardown Hill Marshwood Vale The local hill of Symondsbury.
Obvious summit.
Corfe Hills[4] 78 2 SY998966 None Lewesdon Hill Dorset Heaths Poole's county top, i.e. highest point in Poole unitary authority.

Footnotes:

1. Ferranti's Summit Listings by Relative Height does not list Ridgeway Hill but suggests that the highest point of this stretch of the Purbecks is Povington Hill (198 m, drop 107 m). However, the current Ordnance Survey Landranger map (No. 194) agrees with Jackson (2009), which gives Ridgeway Hill as the highest point in the area at 199 m (drop 107 m).

2. The following summits listed by the North Dorset Ramblers have been omitted from the table as they are considered sub-peaks or alternative names of hills in the main list:

See also

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References and footnotes

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  1. ^ Dawson, Alan (1992). The Relative Hills of Britain. Milnthorpe: Cicerone Press. ISBN 1-85284-068-4. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010.
  2. ^ Jackson, Mark. "More Relative Hills of Britain" (PDF). Relative Hills of Britain. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Name, height, prominence, grid, class and parent data from: Jackson, Mark (2009). More Relative Hills of Britain, Marilyn News Centre, UK, p. 168. E-book Archived 2013-10-12 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Name, height, prominence, grid and class data from Database of British and Irish Hills - Dorset. Accessed on 23 Mar 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map series online at Database of British and Irish Hills
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Name and height from Going High in Dorset. Accessed on 23 Mar 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Prominence from Summit Listings by Relative Height by Jonathan de Ferranti. Accessed on 25 Mar 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Grid reference from Summit Listings by Relative Height by Jonathan de Ferranti. Accessed on 25 Mar 2013.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Parent peak from Summit Listings by Relative Height by Jonathan de Ferranti. Accessed on 25 Mar 2013.
  10. ^ a b c d e Prominence estimated from Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series
  11. ^ The face of Dorset — Cranborne Chase at www.dorsetlife.co.uk. Accessed on 23 Mar 2013.
  12. ^ Ordnance Survey Open Street Map
  13. ^ Abbotsbury Castle at www.megalithic.co.uk. Accessed on 23 Mar 2013.
  14. ^ a b The Purbeck Volcano at www.dorsetlife.co.uk. Accessed on 3 Apr 2013.
  15. ^ Dorset Heaths - Natural Area Profile by English Nature. Accessed on 3 Apr 2013.
  16. ^ Creech Barrow at www.themodernantiquarian.com. Accessed on 3 Apr 2013.
  17. ^ Name and grid from geodata.us
  18. ^ Sidling Saint Nicholas at www.sydlingstnicholas.org.uk. Accessed on 23 Mar 2013.
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