Bulbarrow Hill

Bulbarrow Hill rises 274 metres above the Dorset countryside near Woolland, five miles west of Blandford Forum. It belongs to the chalk escarpment of the Dorset Downs, overlooking the Blackmore Vale with distant views across four counties. Most of the hill remains wild calcareous grassland, though a small area is given over to arable farming. A medieval track still crosses the ridge, and the Iron Age Rawlsbury Camp clings to a promontory with twin embankments and a ditch marking its ancient limits. The hill’s name comes from the Bronze Age barrows scattered across its slopes. Paragliders launch regularly from the summit, taking advantage of steady winds over the open downland. The broadcaster Jack Hargreaves, who lived nearby at Raven Cottage, chose the hill for his final resting place in 1994. A local indie band, Half Man Half Biscuit, even dedicated a song to the hill in their 1994 album. Since 1942 the hill has hosted radio towers, starting with a RAF Gee station during the Second World War. American forces later shared the site before it became a telecoms hub for emergency services. Two tall masts now stand on the summit, relaying signals across southern England while the surrounding grassland and earthworks preserve centuries of human history.