Melbury Hill Explained

Melbury Hill
Elevation M:263
Elevation Ref:[1]
Prominence M:66
Parent Peak:Win Green
Listing:Tump
Location:Dorset, England
Range:Cranborne Chase
Coordinates:50.9767°N -2.182°W
Grid Ref Uk:ST873197
Topo:OS Landranger 183, Explorer 118N

Melbury Hill, whose summit is also called Melbury Beacon,[2] is a prominent hill, 263 metres high,[1] on the high chalk escarpment of the North Dorset Downs above the village of Melbury Abbas in the county of Dorset in southern England.

From Melbury Beacon there are superb panoramic views of Blackmore Vale and Cranborne Chase, as well as the Saxon hilltop town of Shaftesbury less than 2 miles to the north.[2]

In 1588 an Armada beacon sited here formed part of a chain of signal beacons from London to Plymouth.[2]

There is a trig point on the summit and a National Trust-owned wood on its western flank above the A350 from Blandford Forum to Shaftesbury.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jackson . Mark . More Relative Hills of Britain . Relative Hills of Britain . 26 March 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131012150300/http://www.rhb.org.uk/humps/humps_1_1_0c.pdf . 12 October 2013 .
  2. http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2012/04/melbury-hill-compton-abbas-and-fontmell-down/ Melbury Hill, Compton Abbas and Fontmell Down
  3. Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series, No. 183.