Winkelbury

Winkelbury Hillfort is a simple univallate fort situated on a high spur jutting out from Cranborne Chase's chalk hills above the village of Berwick St John. It looks to me as if was never finished (it's not unknown).  The ramparts and ditches are fairly well defined on the hill end of the spur, where an unusual 2 entrance affair is going on, though even here both are unsubstantial really. Whereas the further out along the spur you go, the patchier the rampart and ditch becomes, being hardly noticeable in places. The also appears another fainter, and very ephemeral, bank and ditch crossing the enclosed area, maybe evidence for a smaller fort first being marked out before being enlarged. The site has a pleasant vibe to it, especially in the sun. An the views! Man! Positioned as it is sticking right out from a long snaking escarpment, the views, both east and west are spectacular. Staring out, picking up the details in the undulating landscape, you loose yourself in fantasy imaginings. I experience the deceleration of time until it goes in reverse, as I imagine the hedgerows returned to break up the the large fields, see the tracts of woodland expand, and peel back the layers of time to wonder what this landscape looked like in centuries past.  Still, I can't hang about much longer as it's off to the local metropolis of Shaftesbury for a gig.