Watts Hill

{{short description|Hill in Dorset, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Watts Hill

| photo = Watts Hill - geograph.org.uk - 1180197.jpg

| photo_caption = View across Watts Hill, close to the C12, with Whitcombe Bottom just beyond.

| elevation_m = 262

| elevation_ref = [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/prominence.html Summit Listings by Relative Height] collated by Jonathan de Ferranti. Accessed on 30 Mar 2013.

| prominence_m = 69

| prominence_ref =

| parent_peak = Lewesdon Hill

| listing =

| location = Dorset, England

| range = Dorset Downs

| coordinates = {{coord|50.8317|-2.4648|type:landmark_dim:5000_region:GB|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| grid_ref_UK = ST673036

| topo = OS Landranger 194

Explorer No. 117

| type =

| age =

| last_eruption =

| first_ascent =

| easiest_route =

}}

Watts Hill is a hill in the Dorset Downs and one of the highest in the county of Dorset, England. The height of the summit is variously recorded as 261 metresOrdnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series, No. 194 or 262 metres.

Location

Watts Hill lies about 1½ miles north of Cerne Abbas above the village of Minterne Parva, and about 12 kilometres north of Dorchester, the county town. It is the highest point on a north-south ridge, on the southern spur of which is the Cerne Abbas Giant, an old landmark whose origin is unclear. A mile to the northwest is Dogbury Hill and, on the far side of the A352 is Telegraph Hill and High Stoy, a popular filming location.

History

There is much evidence of prehistoric settlement in the area. Near the Giant there are the remains of an ancient settlement, a tumulus and an earthwork on the southern spur near Cerne Abbas, and similar features further north near Dogbury.

References