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There is a small parking area at the top of Spread Eagle Hill

  1. Go through the gate and follow the broad path out along the ridge.

    Lat:50° 58' 2.9'' N(50.96748°)
    Long:2° 9' 50.3'' W(-2.163964°)
    OSST 88582 18687
    w3w: ///royally.settle.backtrack
  2. Go through the gap in the Cross Dykes and follow the path around to the right.

    Lat:50° 57' 52.5'' N(50.964587°)
    Long:2° 10' 6.6'' W(-2.168507°)
    OSST 88263 18366
    w3w: ///buckets.strategy.swerving
  3. Shortly after the dykes there is a gate in the fence to your left. Ignore this for now and carry on along the main path.

    Lat:50° 57' 49.3'' N(50.963688°)
    Long:2° 10' 13.4'' W(-2.170397°)
    OSST 88130 18266
    w3w: ///chop.repeated.limelight
  4. Where the main path starts to drop down the side of the hill, go through the gate (or over the stile) and into the field on your left.

    Lat:50° 57' 44.6'' N(50.962399°)
    Long:2° 10' 28.7'' W(-2.174644°)
    OSST 87831 18124
    w3w: ///version.winter.extensive
  5. The path on the other side of the gate can be a little indistinct, but if you head up towards the trees on the horizon to you right, you should soon pick up a well-trodden track.

    Lat:50° 57' 43.6'' N(50.962124°)
    Long:2° 10' 30'' W(-2.17501°)
    OSST 87805 18093
    w3w: ///sport.worlds.befitting
  6. Follow the path up to the trees and then branch off to the left.

    Lat:50° 57' 38.1'' N(50.960596°)
    Long:2° 10' 38.5'' W(-2.177366°)
    OSST 87639 17924
    w3w: ///ghost.hazel.adjust
  7. Keep walking parallel to the fence on your left.

    Lat:50° 57' 32.8'' N(50.959103°)
    Long:2° 10' 42.1'' W(-2.178361°)
    OSST 87569 17758
    w3w: ///ripe.enveloped.split
  8. Go through the gate on your left at the far side of the hill.

    Lat:50° 57' 30.3'' N(50.958428°)
    Long:2° 10' 39.7'' W(-2.177705°)
    OSST 87615 17683
    w3w: ///rooting.drummers.wheat
  9. Follow the path back along the far side of the hill heading to the right of the belt of trees you can see up ahead.

    Lat:50° 57' 35.2'' N(50.959772°)
    Long:2° 10' 27.9'' W(-2.174425°)
    OSST 87846 17832
    w3w: ///gushes.presumes.grudges
  10. Go through the gate and follow the path to the other side of the belt of trees.

    Lat:50° 57' 41.3'' N(50.961476°)
    Long:2° 10' 5.8'' W(-2.168289°)
    OSST 88277 18020
    w3w: ///stray.earth.submerged
  11. From here you have a choice of routes. The easiest to follow (marked in red) is found by turning right and walking up to the top the ridge keeping roughly parallel to the belt of trees.

    Lat:50° 57' 43'' N(50.961934°)
    Long:2° 10' 4.6'' W(-2.167938°)
    OSST 88302 18071
    w3w: ///bulges.richly.chestnuts
  12. When you reach the sheep-fold on your left, you again have a choice. The easiest route (marked in red) is to turn right on to the broad track along the top of the ridge, and follow this back up to the road.

    Lat:50° 57' 45.4'' N(50.9626°)
    Long:2° 10' 11.9'' W(-2.169965°)
    OSST 88160 18145
    w3w: ///scrapping.clip.insurers
  13. Go back through the Cross Dykes and keep following the track.

    Lat:50° 57' 49.3'' N(50.963704°)
    Long:2° 10' 6.7'' W(-2.16853°)
    OSST 88261 18268
    w3w: ///likening.registers.spades
  14. Go through the gate in the far left-hand corner of the field and on to a path that runs right next to the road.

    Lat:50° 57' 58'' N(50.966113°)
    Long:2° 9' 45.7'' W(-2.162686°)
    OSST 88672 18535
    w3w: ///definite.storming.scans
  15. Ear-plugs are recommended, but fortunately this path quickly leads you back to the car park.

    Lat:50° 58' 0.5'' N(50.966811°)
    Long:2° 9' 46.8'' W(-2.162991°)
    OSST 88650 18612
    w3w: ///laminated.herbs.middle
  16. One of the problems with the walk along the top of the ridge is the restricted views it gives into Longcombe Bottom. The alternative (marked in green) is to keep straight on when you come out of the belt of trees at point 11, and through a lower gap in the Cross Dykes.

    Lat:50° 57' 48.1'' N(50.963359°)
    Long:2° 10' 2.5'' W(-2.167354°)
    OSST 88343 18229
    w3w: ///bleach.reapply.moderated
  17. Look out for another path that runs along the hill from further up the Cross Dykes and ends up running parallel to ours about two metres up the hill to the left. The two paths never seem to meet anywhere obvious, but you need to swap on to this higher path at some point.

    Lat:50° 57' 53.8'' N(50.964941°)
    Long:2° 9' 56.6'' W(-2.165722°)
    OSST 88458 18405
    w3w: ///moped.diamond.yachting
  18. As you reach the clump of trees at the far end of the field, you will see a path branching off to the left round the back of the old dew pond. Follow this past the display board, to re-join the main route running next to the main road.

    Lat:50° 57' 57.3'' N(50.965927°)
    Long:2° 9' 45.8'' W(-2.162718°)
    OSST 88669 18514
    w3w: ///newly.variation.remover
  19. My preferred alternative (marked in yellow) is to avoid the traffic noise, by carrying straight on at the sheep-fold (point 12) into the long grass.

    Lat:50° 57' 45.7'' N(50.96269°)
    Long:2° 10' 12'' W(-2.169994°)
    OSST 88158 18155
    w3w: ///reply.blockage.included
  20. There is no defined track here, but if you keep heading just to the right of the Shaftesbury mobile phone mast you can see on the horizon, you will soon spot a gate in the fence.

    Lat:50° 57' 46.8'' N(50.963013°)
    Long:2° 10' 12.3'' W(-2.170084°)
    OSST 88151 18191
    w3w: ///lamplight.mixed.union
  21. Go through this gate (the one we saw at point 3), and turn right to re-join the path we started out on.

    Lat:50° 57' 48'' N(50.96334°)
    Long:2° 10' 12.6'' W(-2.17018°)
    OSST 88145 18228
    w3w: ///wizards.amazed.dorms