Dan posted an update
Weatherby Castle, Milborne St Andrew, Dorset
Late April 2025
I visited Weatherby Castle after a recommendation to visit the place from hidden_dorset on Instagram. It was a quiet spot that felt like somewhere mostly known to locals – the kind of place where people walk their dogs and litter free.
It’s easy to get to, with plenty of on-street parking about a 20-minute walk away. The site itself is a small hill topped with woodland, which hides the Iron Age hillfort and the Weatherby Obelisk. The obelisk is an interesting feature and definitely worth taking a moment to find and check out. Sheep roam the surrounding fields and even into the woodland that contains both the hillfort and the obelisk.
I had plenty of time to have good look around and explored possible areas to camp. There are inner and outer ramparts – raised mounds with bushes and plenty of tree cover. The centre of the site is densely wooded, with uneven ground and a lot of sheep dung.
Although the weather had been dry, it had rained a few days earlier, and as evening approached, the biting beasties came out. I found a semi-flat spot on top of the inner rampart, on the edge of the tree line, but ended up abandoning it due to the bugs.
Instead, I chose a spot on the outer section – less dark and damp, and facing into the oncoming wind, which helped keep the beasties away. This was on the opposite side of the site from the village of Milborne St Andrew. The ground wasn’t perfect and had some debris, but it was flat enough. It was close to a quiet road, with the A35 not far away, so there was some background road noise.
A few sheep wandered by during the night, but I slept well and was undisturbed. There was good phone and internet signal.
Coordinates:
GPS: SY 80877 96098
Google Maps: 50°45’51.1″N 2°16’21.0″W
What3words: strut.novelists.resettle
Getting there:
I parked on Little England Road in the village of Milborne St Andrew. There’s plenty of parking around this quiet village, and the hillfort is only 1.24 miles (1.99 km) away – an easy walk that takes less than 30 minutes. An alternative would be parking on the passing lay-bys along the nearby Lane End/B3390, which I am sure would be okay, and there are routes leading from them to the hillfort.
Heads up:
Nothing really to worry about. The hillfort is in a field that was full of sheep when I visited. The inner section is petty densely wooded and would be ideal for a hammock. However, it was darker and more damp than the outer area, which made it perfect for the biting beasties. The ground is very uneven, with nettles, sheep dung, tree roots and other debris.
The surrounding field is grassy but more exposed to nearby properties and walkers. There are some grassy areas between the ramparts, but they’re close to the many tracks and paths that run through the site. I felt a bit too exposed in these sections, and the sheep and their young were grazing there, so I didn’t want to disturb them.
I saw a few locals walking their dogs on the roads and lanes nearby, but I didn’t see or hear anyone at the hillfort all night. Good phone and internet signal throughout.
#dorset #tentcamp #hillfort #wildcamp
