Ridgeway Hill, also referred to as Grange Hill or Steeple Hill, is the third highest point of the

Purbeck Hills The Purbeck Hills, also called the Purbeck Ridge or simply the Purbecks, are a ridge of chalk downs in Dorset, England. It is formed by the structure known as the Purbeck Monocline. The ridge extends from Lulworth Cove in the west to Old H ...

in the county of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

standing at , is one of the only hills with a prominence of over a hundred metres,

HuMP The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...

s, in the county. Near the top of the hill is an 18th-century

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

known as

Grange Arch Grange Arch, also known as Creech Folly, is an 18th-century folly that is located near the second highest point of the Purbeck Hills, Ridgeway Hill (199 m), in Dorset. It lies within the parish of Steeple. The folly, which was built by a former ...

, built by the former owner of

Creech Grange Creech Grange is a country house in Steeple, south of Wareham in Dorset at the foot of the Purbeck Hills. Historic England designate it as a Grade I listed building. The park and gardens are Grade II* listed in the National Register of Hist ...

, Denis Bond.''Grange Arch on the Purbeck ridgeway''
at www.geograph.org.uk. Accessed on 26 May 2013.''Grange Arch, Steeple''
at www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Accessed on 26 May 2013. On the eastern spur of the hill is Stonehill Down which is now a nature reserve. There are also good views of Swyre Head on the

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-Decembe ...

Location

The hill lies about 1¾ miles (2.8 km) from

Kimmeridge Bay Kimmeridge Bay () is a bay on the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England, close to and southeast of the village of Kimmeridge, on the Smedmore Estate. The area is renowned for its fossils, with The Etches ...

on Dorset's Jurassic Coast and west of

Corfe Castle Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11th century and commands a gap in the ...

. The hamlet of

Steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

lies at its southern foot. To the west is the better-known, but slightly lower, Povington Hill above the abandoned village of Tyneham. The

Lulworth Ranges The Lulworth Ranges are military firing ranges located between Wareham and Lulworth in Dorset, England. They cover an area of more than , are leased in a rolling contract from the Weld Estate by the Ministry of Defence and are part of the Armoure ...

lies between Ridgeway Hill and the coast. There is a free car park on the ridgeline west of the summit just off the Grange Hill road known as Steeple Hill Car Park, from where there are panoramic views of the area.

Gallery

File:Ridgeway Hill from Creech Barrow Hill.JPG, The long wooded back of Ridgeway Hill seen from Creech Barrow Hill to the North East File:Ridgeway Hill from footpath to west.JPG, The footpath up the western slope of Ridgeway Hill from the car park

References

{{Reflist Hills of Dorset