Tags
countryside, Dorset, King Alfred The Great, scenic views, Shaftesbury, Sir Fredrick Treves "The Highways and Byways in Dorset", views
Shaftesbury is a very interesting place, but I must confess that I spent most of my time there with my back to the town, admiring the breathtaking views of the Dorset countryside afforded by the high ground [a certain on-line encyclopaedia informs me that Shaftesbury is one of the oldest and highest towns in Britain at 718 ft (219 m) above sea level]. I don’t often compare myself to illustrious figures from Britain’s past, but I’m sure Alfred The Great, who fortified the hilltop back in Anglo-Saxon times, did much the same back in 880. It is a place to stand still and to observe, as you can see, but it is also a place for action, a place to explore from [I’m sure Alfred The Great would have agreed with me, despite the fact he didn’t have the luxury of being driven around Dorset by my host and good friend, Mr. W].
To quote from Sir Fredrick Treves’ “The Highways & Byways in Dorset“: “There is no spot like it beyond the confines of Britain. It is so typical of the island that it might claim to be symbolic of the Heart of England“.
The Antics Roadshow blog 