Golden Cap: the short route
A three mile walk from Langdon Hill car park.
Start:
Langdon Hill car park, grid ref: SY412930
1
From the car park, go through the gate signposted towards Golden Cap. Follow the main path around the side of the hill. The clearings on the left as you follow the track around give magnificent views over Chideock and the surrounding West Dorset countryside. The small coastal hamlet of Seatown lies where the River Winniford meets the coast and Thorncombe Beacon is clearly visible on the cliffs beyond.
An ancient landscape
Langdon Hill was open downland in the 19th century and the earliest maps show that the land was divided between two farms - Filcombe and Langdon. At the beginning of the walk, after about 330yds (300m) look out for the large bank and ditch that once divided the hill. The place name, Chideock, is pre-Saxon in origin and in 1086 the manor was owned directly by the king.
End:
Langdon Hill car park, grid ref: SY412930
