Hambledon Hill Fort

The walk up Hambledon Hill is steep - properly steep - and it takes about twenty minutes if you're moving at a decent pace. Worth every aching calf muscle though. This Iron Age fort crowns a 646-foot ridge above the Blackmore Vale, and once you're up there, the views across Dorset are genuinely magnificent. You can make out the ridge itself, trace the defensive ditches, and stand where people stood two thousand years ago preparing for Roman invasion.

It's not a destination with visitor facilities or interpretation boards. You won't find a café or gift shop. What you get instead is space, solitude, and the real sense of a working landscape - farmland stretches out beneath you, villages dot the valley floor, and on a clear day you're looking at miles and miles. Families with keen walkers will absolutely love it. Young children might find the climb dull, though the reward at the top tends to convert them. History types should budget a good hour - longer if you're the sort who likes to sit up there and properly contemplate things.

The nearest town is Shaftesbury, about four miles away, which means you could base yourself at Gold Hill Glamping nearby and make this a natural morning or afternoon excursion. Parking is at the bottom of the hill in a small lay-by - get there early in summer or you'll be squeezing in. The path is often muddy even days after rain. Bring proper boots. Free to visit, obviously - it's just a hill.