Places to visit

Hill Forts

Badbury Rings is one of the great hill forts of Southern England, a triple banked Iron Age defensive earthwork offering extensive views. During the Roman occupation it became an important civil base and in the 4th Century a town called ‘Vindocladia’ (“the town with the white ditches”) stood below the rings.
The site is part of the Kingston Lacy Estate and is now owned by the National Trust. It is approached through a mile long avenue of beech trees planted in 1835 as an anniversary gift for Lady Bankes.



Hod Hill, a Site of Special Scientific Interest overlooking the River Stour, clearly shows Iron Age origins and later adaptations as a Roman fort; neighbouring Hambledon Hill, also a National Nature Reserve and traversed by the Wessex Ridgeway, was an extensive Neolithic settlement. From the crest of these hills are some of the finest views in England, particularly at sunset.