Our verdict
Quieter than the main Spread Eagle Hill approach if you start from Fontmell Magna village itself, with the same excellent downland underfoot. Keep dogs on a lead off the marked circular route for ground-nesting birds.
The Fontmell Magna side of the National Trust's Fontmell Down holding, chalk downland dropping steeply towards the village with views across the Blackmore Vale. Part of the same Thomas Hardy memorial land as the main Fontmell Down reserve, managed as one of Dorset's best wildflower and butterfly sites.