Smitten Corner Trail Junction – Bronze Age Burial Mounds loop from Maiden Castle

Hiking trails & Routes

Winterborne St. Martin

Smitten Corner Trail Junction – Bronze Age Burial Mounds loop from Maiden Castle

Moderate

5.0

(2)

hikers

Smitten Corner Trail Junction – Bronze Age Burial Mounds loop from Maiden Castle

03:11

11.7km

170m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Last updated: August 8, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Dorset National Landscape

Waypoints

Start point

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50 m

View of Maiden Castle and the Dorset Countryside

Highlight • Natural Monument

at the top of Goulds Hill you'll have one of the best views of possibly the most impressive Iron Age Fortresses on the planet

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1.87 km

Bronze Age Barrows at Bronkham Hill

Highlight (Segment) • Viewpoint

Bronkham Hill, a linear cemetery of Bronze Age round barrows Great to look at, even better to ride over (though these are burial mounds!)

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5.36 km

View of Hardy Monument and the Coast

Highlight • Viewpoint

The long climb to the monument from Martinstown is rewarded with 360 views of Black Down and the coast.

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5.46 km

Smitten Corner Trail Junction

Highlight • Viewpoint

Smitten Corner has a rather lovely name for what is essentially just a small car park. There's much more than meets the eye though, as so many footpaths, bridleways and …

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5.96 km

Hardy Monument

Highlight • Monument

This striking tower stands to the north of the Isle of Portland and offers fantastic 360 degree views of Dorset and the English Channel. Although the novelist Thomas Hardy lived …

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7.75 km

Cycling Path to Weymouth

Highlight • Trail

slower than the tarmac road but full of nice views

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8.71 km

Earthworks in Dorset National Landscape

Highlight • Natural

Earth works through Dorset AONB

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9.64 km

To the north of this stretch of the path, you can see two large tumuli, also known as barrows or burial mounds. They typically date from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, although some may be from later periods.

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11.7 km

End point

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

11.0 km

425 m

294 m

Surfaces

10.4 km

904 m

294 m

112 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Wednesday 21 October

14°C

9°C

85 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 29.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

February 23, 2024,Hardy’s Monument to Upwey

This is a great one way walk with lovely views of Weymouth Bay and Portland from the South Dorset Ridgeway. A gentle stroll, with skylarks serenading you and rolling Dorset countryside all around you.