List of hills of Dorset

This is a list of hills in Dorset. Many of these hills are important historical, archaeological and nature conservation sites, as well as popular hiking and tourist destinations in the county of Dorset in southern England.

Colour key

The table is colour-coded based on the classification or "listing" of the hill. The three types that occur in Dorset are Marilyns, HuMPs and TuMPs, listings based on topographical prominence. "Prominence" correlates strongly with the subjective significance of a summit. Peaks with low prominences are either subsidiary tops of a higher summit or relatively insignificant independent summits. Peaks with high prominences tend to be the highest points around and likely to have extraordinary views. A Marilyn is a hill with a prominence of at least 150 metres or about 500 feet. A "HuMP" is a hill with a prominence of at least 100 but less than 150 metres. In this table Marilyns are in beige and HuMPs in lilac. The term "sub-Marilyn" or "sub-HuMP" is used, e.g. in the online Database of British and Irish Hills to indicate hills that fall just below the threshold. To qualify for inclusion, hills must either be 200 metres or higher with a prominence of at least 30 metres, below 200 metres with a prominence of at least 90 metres or be in some other way notable. For further information see the Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles and the individual articles on Marilyns, HuMPs and TuMPs. By way of contrast, see also the article listing Tumps.
The county top of Poole unitary authority is not strictly in the county of Dorset, but is included for interest because it falls within Dorset's historic county boundary.

List of hills

Footnotes:
1. Ferranti's does not list Ridgeway Hill but suggests that the highest point of this stretch of the Purbecks is Povington Hill. However, the current Ordnance Survey Landranger map agrees with Jackson, which gives Ridgeway Hill as the highest point in the area at 199 m.
2. The following summits listed by the North Dorset Ramblers have been omitted from the table as they are considered sub-peaks or alternative names of hills in the main list:

Gore Hill, Dorset Downs, SW spur of Telegraph Hill
Higher Melcombe Hill, Dorset Downs, possibly alternative name for Lyscombe Hill
High Stoy - Dorset Downs, NE spur of Telegraph Hill
Nettlecombe Tout - N spur of Lyscombe Hill with a hill fort.
Weston Hill, NW extension of Toller Down ridge on A356
Beaminster Down, flanks of the Toller Down ridge, NE of Beaminster
Ayles Hill, outlier of Telegraph Hill by A 37. Celtic field system. Spelt "Ayles's Hill" on OS Landranger map.
White Way Earthwork, N of A 35 X with 2 minor roads, nr Litton Cheney, 18 km W of Dorchester, S spur of Eggardon Hill.
Stonebarrow Hill, SW spur of Chardown Hill.