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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 .
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 "Hu ndred M etre P rominence) 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.
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] )
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:
Gore Hill (265 m), Dorset Downs , SW spur of Telegraph Hill
Higher Melcombe Hill (262 m), Dorset Downs , possibly alternative name for Lyscombe Hill
High Stoy (260 m) - Dorset Downs , NE spur of Telegraph Hill
Nettlecombe Tout (258 m) - N spur of Lyscombe Hill with a hill fort.
Weston Hill [ 6] (250 m, ST504045 (est.)[ 5] ), NW extension of Toller Down ridge on A356
Beaminster Down [ 6] (244 m, ST493033 [ 5] ), flanks of the Toller Down ridge, NE of Beaminster
Ayles Hill[ 17] [ 6] (240 m, ST612007 (est.)[ 5] ), outlier of Telegraph Hill by A 37 . Celtic field system.[ 18] Spelt "Ayles's Hill" on OS Landranger map.
White Way Earthwork[ 6] [ 5] (218 m, SY556917 [ 5] ), N of A 35 X with 2 minor roads, nr Litton Cheney , 18 km W of Dorchester , S spur of Eggardon Hill .
Stonebarrow Hill , SW spur of Chardown Hill .
^ Dawson, Alan (1992). The Relative Hills of Britain . Milnthorpe: Cicerone Press. ISBN 1-85284-068-4 . Archived from the original on 21 September 2010.
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ 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.
^ 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
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ a b c d e Prominence estimated from Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series
^ The face of Dorset — Cranborne Chase at www.dorsetlife.co.uk. Accessed on 23 Mar 2013.
^ Ordnance Survey Open Street Map
^ Abbotsbury Castle at www.megalithic.co.uk. Accessed on 23 Mar 2013.
^ a b The Purbeck Volcano at www.dorsetlife.co.uk. Accessed on 3 Apr 2013.
^ Dorset Heaths - Natural Area Profile by English Nature. Accessed on 3 Apr 2013.
^ Creech Barrow at www.themodernantiquarian.com. Accessed on 3 Apr 2013.
^ Name and grid from geodata.us
^ Sidling Saint Nicholas at www.sydlingstnicholas.org.uk. Accessed on 23 Mar 2013.