Going up Came Down

A beautiful circular walk from Dorchester, around the historic site of Maiden Castle and then going up Came Down! With panoramic views across Weymouth and Portland to the south and Dorchester and surrounding areas to the north. Walking along the chalk down then down through the valley back to Dorchester.

The massive ditches and banks of Maiden Castle, stretching across a saddle-backed hilltop 914 metres long, are the end result of many centuries of modification and enlargement during the Iron Age.

The first early Iron Age (800–550 BC) hillfort enclosed only the eastern end of the hill, with a single rampart and a V-shaped ditch. The original rampart was probably dumped earth, stone and chalk from the ditch, but a complex timber revetted wall flanked the two entrances.

In the middle Iron Age (550–300 BC), a much larger area of 19 hectares was enclosed including the western end of the hill, allowing more people to live within the defences.