List of hills of Dorset facts for kids

Dorset, in southern England, is home to many amazing hills! This article lists some of them. These hills are not just great for hiking. They are also important places with old history, cool archaeological finds, and special nature areas.

What Makes a Hill Special?

Hills are often measured by their 'prominence'. This means how much a hill rises from the land around it, not just its height above sea level. A hill with high prominence usually stands out a lot and has amazing views!

In Dorset, hills are grouped into different types based on their prominence:

• Marilyns: These are big hills that rise at least 150 meters (about 500 feet) from the land around them.
• HuMPs: These hills rise at least 100 meters but less than 150 meters.
• TuMPs: These are smaller hills that rise at least 30 meters but less than 100 meters.
• Unclassified: These hills have less than 30 meters prominence.

In the table below, Marilyns are shown in beige and HuMPs in lilac.

The highest point of Poole unitary authority is included here. This is because it falls within Dorset's historic county boundary.

Famous Hills in Dorset

Hill	Height (m)	Prom. (m)	Grid ref.	Class	Parent	Area	Cool Facts	Image
Lewesdon Hill	279	185	ST437012	Marilyn	Staple Hill, Somerset	Marshwood & Powerstock Vales	This is the highest point in Dorset! It's one of Dorset's four Marilyns. You can find an old Iron Age hill fort here.
Pilsdon Pen	277	83	ST413011	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Marshwood & Powerstock Vales	This is Dorset's second highest hill. For many years, people thought it was the highest! It also has an Iron Age hill fort.
Bulbarrow Hill	274	141	ST777055	HuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	You can find Rawlsbury Camp, an Iron Age hill fort, here. It's also a popular spot for Paragliding.
Telegraph Hill	267	121	ST644050	HuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	Another great place for Paragliding.
Melbury Hill (Melbury Beacon)	263	66	ST873197	TuMP	Win Green	Cranborne Chase	This hill is near Melbury Abbas. There's a trig point (a survey marker) at the top.
Breeze Hill	262	20	ST899204	Unclassified	Win Green	Cranborne Chase	This hill has a striking ridgeline with amazing views over Blackmore Vale.
Lyscombe Hill	262	100	ST738029	HuMP	Telegraph Hill	Dorset Downs	There's a hill fort on Nettlecombe Tout, which is a northern part of this hill.
Watts Hill	262	69	ST673036	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	Located just above Minterne Parva.
Lambert's Castle Hill	258	121	SY370988	HuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Blackdowns	This is the site of Lambert's Castle, an old Iron Age hill fort.
Bell Hill	258	50	ST800082	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	Near Turnworth, about 5 miles west of Blandford Forum. It's also a Paragliding site.
Eggardon Hill	252	117	SY546944	HuMP	Telegraph Hill	Marshwood & Powerstock Vales	This hill is at the western end of the South Dorset Downs. It has a hill fort and is a Paragliding site.
Toller Down	252	96	SY518031	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	Located just southwest of the A356 road near Corscombe.
Ball Hill	251	74	ST721034	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	This hill is above Folly, which is a Paragliding site. It's about 9 miles north of Dorchester.
Dogbury Hill	248	13	ST660051	Unclassified	Watts Hill	Blackmore Vale	This hill has a hill fort site near Minterne Magna. It's a northwest part of Watts Hill.
Black Down	242	78	SY611876	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	South Dorset Downs	This is the site of the famous Hardy Monument. It's about 2 km northeast of Portesham.
West Hill	224	63	ST566042	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	Located southwest of Evershot, near the A37 road.
Coney's Castle	222	17	SY371979	Unclassified	Lambert's Castle Hill	Blackdowns	This hill has an Iron Age hill fort.
Drackenorth	221	60	SY532985	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	You can find this hill 3 km north-northeast of Powerstock on the Jubilee Trail.
Rampisham Down	219	8	ST544014	Unclassified	Toller Down	Dorset Downs	This hill is by the A356, about 12 km northwest of Dorchester. It used to be a transmission site for the BBC World Service.
Bubb Down Hill	217	40	ST592060	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	Just east of the A37, about 10 km south of Yeovil.
Abbotsbury Castle	215	20	SY555866	Unclassified	Black Down	South Dorset Downs	This is the site of an Iron Age hill fort. There's a trig point at the top.
Warren Hill	215	51	SY526994	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	This hill is where Hooke Park is located.
Blackdown Hill	215	34	ST395038	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Blackdown Hills	Located 8 km southwest of Crewkerne, just northwest of Pilsdon Pen.
Conegar Hill	214	47	ST439032	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Yeovil Scarplands	About 500 meters north of Broadwindsor.
Waddon Hill	213	35	ST448015	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Marshwood & Powerstock Vales	This hill is the site of an old Roman fort near Beaminster.
Payne's Down	211	62	ST385012	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Marshwood & Powerstock Vales	Located 10 km east-northeast of Axminster.
Bookham Knoll	211	43	ST702046	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Downs	About 1 km southeast of Buckland Newton.
Duncliffe Hill	210	96	ST826226	TuMP	Win Green	Blackmore Vale	This hill is the site of an Iron Age hill fort.
Swyre Head	208	150	SY934784	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Purbeck Hills	Located on the Dorset coast, east of Durdle Door. There's an ancient burial mound (tumulus) at the top. It's also a Paragliding site.
Hardown Hill	207	154	SY405942	Marilyn	Lewesdon Hill	Marshwood & Powerstock Vales	This is one of Dorset's four Marilyns.
Seaborough Hill	204	80	ST429071	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Yeovil Scarplands	About 2 km southwest of Crewkerne, right on the border between Somerset and Dorset.
Nine Barrow Down	199	152	SZ007811	Marilyn	Lewesdon Hill	Purbeck Hills	This is another one of Dorset's four Marilyns. From here, you can get great views of Poole Harbour.
Ridgeway Hill	199	107	SY914817	HuMP	Swyre Head	Purbeck Hills
Chardown Hill	194	68	SY396936	TuMP	Hardown Hill	South Dorset Downs	Located on the Dorset coast, east of Charmouth. Stonebarrow Hill is a part of this hill.
Creech Barrow Hill	193	38	SY921823	TuMP	Swyre Head	Dorset Heaths	This is one of Dorset's most unique landmarks. It's the highest point of the Heaths and the largest Tertiary hill in England. There's an ancient round barrow here.
Hambledon Hill	192	131	ST845125	HuMP	Win Green	Cranborne Chase	This hill is the site of a very old, prehistoric hill fort. There's also an ancient burial mound (tumulus) at the top.
Golden Cap	191	63	SY384934	TuMP	Hardown Hill	South Dorset Downs	This is the highest point on the south coast of England!
Chaldon Hill	178	90	SY783812 (est.)	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	South Dorset Downs	Located on the Dorset coast, west of Swyre Head and Lulworth Cove. There's an ancient burial mound (tumulus) at the top.
Bindon Hill	168	94	SY839802	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	South Dorset Downs	This hill is right on the Dorset coast, just east of Lulworth Cove.
The Verne	147	140	SY692737	HuMP	Lewesdon Hill	Isle of Portland	The very top of this hill is where HM Prison, Verne is located.
Maiden Castle	134	39	SY671884	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	South Dorset Downs	This is the largest hill fort in Britain! It's about 2.5 km southwest of Dorchester.
Hambury Tout	134	35	SY815802	TuMP	Lewesdon Hill	South Dorset Downs	This hill is on the Dorset coast, just west of Lulworth Cove. It's part of the most popular walking route to Durdle Door. There's a trig point at the top.
Colmer's Hill	127	35	SY440936	TuMP	Hardown Hill	Marshwood Vale	This is the well-known local hill of Symondsbury. It has a very clear and noticeable summit.
Corfe Hills	78	2	SY998966	None	Lewesdon Hill	Dorset Heaths	This is the highest point in the Poole area.

See also

• List of mountains and hills of the United Kingdom
• List of Marilyns in England
• Geography of Dorset