Melbury Beacon and Fontmell Down

A 6.2-mile chalk downland half-day of three and a half hours with 300 metres of climb, north to the trig point on Melbury Beacon and then south along the scarp over Fontmell Down, one of the richest flower and butterfly slopes in southern England. Steep sheep-grazed turf throughout, no shelter, and a wind that never quite stops on the ridge. Start at the small free car park on Spread Eagle Hill on the Shaftesbury to Blandford road, twenty spaces at most, right on the National Trust boundary. Sheep and cattle graze both downs, so leads through the grazing, the scarp edge is steep enough to be a hazard for a dog running blind, and there is no water on the route at all.