Hi readers,

This week I have been thinking about how many places of interest there are in Dorset. What got me thinking was that last week I was lucky enough to attend the North Dorset Friendship Club event at Ham Hill.

For those of you who don’t know, Ham Hill is in Somerset (near Yeovil) and is an Iron Age hill fort and Roman site. It is also a geological site of special scientific interest and is still used for quarrying hamstone. Some of the stone has been used in places like Sherborne Abbey and Montacute House.

We went to the Prince of Wales pub, who did a delicious BBQ for us. We then walked up to the Monument where we looked out over Mendip, Quantock and Blackdown Hills. The views are amazing.

Closer to home, another place I like on the outskirts of Dorchester is Maiden Castle. According to English Heritage it is the largest and most complex Iron Age hill fort in Britain, and the size of 50 football pitches! It’s a great place to walk, with sheep grazing on it and fantastic views too.

I also enjoy visiting Hardy’s monument just outside Dorchester. It remembers Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy who was the Flag Captain of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. He is probably best known because it was in his arms that Lord Nelson died, and said ‘Kiss me Hardy’.

In fact, Dorchester has load of interesting history, much of which can still be seen today. It was a thriving town for the Romans in 70AD and known as Durnovaria. There are still remains to be seen like the Town House and Maumbury Rings, which was used as an amphitheatre.

So next time you are rushing around, think of all the people who have gone before you and how things have changed!

The writers of the Our View column are supported in their editing by The Friendship Club– a project for adults with learning disabilities, run by People First Dorset