The 10 Most Amazing Peaks around Beaminster

From the trig point at Pilsdon Pen summit, you get spectacular, wide-open views across Dorset. Looking south, the eye sweeps over the lush farmlands and rolling hills of the Marshwood Vale, extending all the way down to Bridport and the dramatic cliffs of the Jurassic Coast.

Quite the climb up, regardless of which side you choose. Experts now believe people lived on Doghouse Hill on the Golden Cap estate up to 10,000 years ago. Finds included a stone hearth, fire pit and pot shards from Bronze Age periods (2,500 to 1,000BC) and others from the Mesolithic Age (10,000 to 4,000BC) Martin Papworth, from the National Trust, said: "Although it's a stunning coastal site now, 6,000 to 8,000 years ago this area would have been over a mile inland. To find ancient pottery decorated with fingernail impressions and touch them with one's own hand, that's real contact with the past Martin Papworth, National Trust "The Mesolithic people who lived on top of Doghouse hill would have pre-dated farming, so would have been hunter-gatherers using these flints to work hides, cut meat and scrape fat from animal skins. "After millennia of erosion, it's at risk of disappearing into the sea itself."

The watering well. Man made well with rocks and piping, I imagine that this is a watering spot for the wildlife in the area. mainly deer. clear and clean water.

Thorncombe Beacon is a hill between Bridport and Charmouth in Dorset, England. It lies about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of Eype Mouth and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of Seatown. It is in the south-west part of Symondsbury parish close to the parish of Chideock. It is 157 metres (515 ft) high, compared to 191 metres (627 ft) for Golden Cap which lies about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the west. It forms part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site and the South West Coast Path and the Monarch's Way skirt the hilltop. The hill is owned by the National Trust. Three bowl barrows to the north-east of the summit constitute a scheduled monument. In 1588, a chain of beacons was built along the south coast to warn of the approach of the Spanish Armada, which had been sighted off Plymouth, and Thorncombe Beacon was one of these.

3 little things to see on this section. A Smugglers song by Rudyard Kipling IF you wake at midnight, and hear a horse's feet, Don't go drawing back the blind, or looking in the street, Them that ask no questions isn't told a lie. Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by. Five and twenty ponies, Trotting through the dark - Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk. Laces for a lady; letters for a spy, Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by! Running round the woodlump if you chance to find Little barrels, roped and tarred, all full of brandy-wine, Don't you shout to come and look, nor use 'em for your play. Put the brishwood back again - and they'll be gone next day ! If you see the stable-door setting open wide; If you see a tired horse lying down inside; If your mother mends a coat cut about and tore; If the lining's wet and warm - don't you ask no more ! If you meet King George's men, dressed in blue and red, You be careful what you say, and mindful what is said. If they call you " pretty maid," and chuck you 'neath the chin, Don't you tell where no one is, nor yet where no one's been ! Knocks and footsteps round the house - whistles after dark - You've no call for running out till the house-dogs bark. Trusty's here, and Pincher's here, and see how dumb they lie They don't fret to follow when the Gentlemen go by ! 'If You do as you've been told, 'likely there's a chance, You'll be give a dainty doll, all the way from France, With a cap of Valenciennes, and a velvet hood - A present from the Gentlemen, along 'o being good ! Five and twenty ponies, Trotting through the dark - Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk. Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie - Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by !

The summit of this hill represents the second highest point in Dorset, and from here, you'll have breathtaking panoramic views. At the top, there was an Iron Age hillfort, which was excavated in the mid-20th century.

Colmer's Hill is a fantastically distinctive, conical hill in the west of Dorset. It rises above the stunning Symondsbury Estate and makes for an excellent objective on a walk in the area. You can spot it both for its shape and the pine trees on its otherwise bare summit.

Very nice hiking trail with a great view. It is believed that this area was already settled in the Mesolithic. However, 6,000 to 8,000 years ago, the residents of that time had a completely different view, because the area was more than a mile inland.