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<< Our Photo Pages >> Pimperne Long Barrow - Long Barrow in England in Dorset

Submitted by JimChampion on Monday, 07 October 2002  Page Views: 16880

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Pimperne Long Barrow
Country: England County: Dorset Type: Long Barrow
Nearest Town: Blandford Forum  Nearest Village: Pimperne
Map Ref: ST917105  Landranger Map Number: 195
Latitude: 50.893920N  Longitude: 2.119383W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 3

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Morten visited on 12th Apr 2025 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

DrewParsons JimChampion have visited here

Pimperne Long Barrow
Pimperne Long Barrow submitted by JimChampion : April 2005. A view of the western side and southern end of the Pimperne Long Barrow from the bridleway that runs past its western side. The barrow is 2.5m tall and this does not change much along its >100m length. The barrow is aligned along the ridge that it lies on and from the top there are splendid views of Cranborne Chase. This viewpoint is easily accessible from the A354 and visitors have er... (Vote or comment on this photo)
The longest long barrow in Dorset, 106 metres along its axis and 27m wide at its broadest point.

The barrow's parallel ditches have long since silted up and are no longer visible. Its larger end points SSE, along the direction of the ridge that it lies on. It is the westernmost long barrow of the Cranborne Chase group (although there are long barrows on top of Hambledon Hill, 7km to the west) and separate from the Dorset Cursus cluster.

Access This barrow lies alongside a public bridleway, about 300m north of the A354 where it crests the ridge (near a turning for the MOD camp and war memorial). There are laybys on both sides of the road, on the Pimperne side of the ridge. If you're coming from the Salisbury direction then you can see the barrow from the road, the layby is immediately after you've crested the hill. Coming from the opposite direction (Pimperne/Blandford Forum) the barrow isn't so obvious but the layby is. Great views over Cranborne Chase.
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Pimperne Long Barrow
Pimperne Long Barrow submitted by DrewParsons : View from the north western edge of this long barrow which is described by James Dyer in the 1980 edition of his book The Penguin Guide to Prehistoric England and Wales as "107 metres long, 27 metres wide and 2.4 metres high with well marked side ditches separated from the mound by a flat berm". There is no evidence of the side ditches nowadays (October 2009) from what I could see with the adjac... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Pimperne Long Barrow
Pimperne Long Barrow submitted by JimChampion : April 2005. Looking NW at the Pimperne Long Barrow from the A354 roadside. If you are travelling towards Blandford Forum then the barrow is very conspicuous on the right hand side of the road: imagine how eye-catching it was when it was newly built (circa 3000 BCE) and white with chalk. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Pimperne Long Barrow
Pimperne Long Barrow submitted by Morten : There is still what appears to be an impression of the ditches on both sides. The longbarrow still stands tall and largely intact. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Pimperne Long Barrow
Pimperne Long Barrow submitted by DrewParsons : View looking north along the barrow. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Pimperne Long Barrow
Pimperne Long Barrow submitted by DrewParsons : View from the southern end of the long barrow (Vote or comment on this photo)

Pimperne Long Barrow
Pimperne Long Barrow submitted by DrewParsons : Approaching the long barrow from the south with the farm track on the left in September 2009

Pimperne Long Barrow
Pimperne Long Barrow submitted by JimChampion : April 2005. Looking south along the eastern ditch of the Pimperne Long Barrow, now nearly completely silted up but no longer ploughed. The barrow is parallel-sided and separated from its parallel ditches by a berm, although erosion over the years have made these features less well-defined.

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 2.2km S 189° Blandford Race Down Round Barrow(s) (ST91360836)
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"Pimperne Long Barrow" | Login/Create an Account | 5 News and Comments
  
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Re: Pimperne Long Barrow by Zooks777 on Thursday, 19 August 2021
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Clear on Environment Agency lidar (grey icon next to CamRA) as described above, trending NNW-SSE, with at least one side ditch visible. But the micro-terrain is a bit 'busy' suggesting recent disturbance
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Re: Pimperne Long Barrow by Anonymous on Sunday, 06 March 2011
Joanne and i did the walk today from Tarrant Gunville via Pimperne Longbarrow. Still marvel at the size of the site, the biggest in Dorset. Tried to imagine how many men women and children made the mound, and how long it took them. Was it even extended over a few hundred years? guess we will never know for sure! Was a peaceful sunny day in early March, detected an atmospere at the site, or was that just my imagination?
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Re: Pimperne Long Barrow by coldrum on Sunday, 28 March 2010
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Street View


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Re: Pimperne Long Barrow by coldrum on Tuesday, 16 February 2010
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Pastscape entry.

http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=210178
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Re: Pimperne Long Barrow by JimChampion on Wednesday, 06 April 2005
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The longest long barrow in Dorset, 106 metres along its axis and 27m wide at its broadest point. The barrow's parallel ditches have long since silted up and are no longer visible. Its larger end points SSE, along the direction of the ridge that it lies on. It is the westernmost long barrow of the Cranborne Chase group (although there are long barrows on top of Hambledon Hill, 7km to the west) and separate from the Dorset Cursus cluster.

Access This barrow lies alongside a public bridleway, about 300m north of the A354 where it crests the ridge (near a turning for the MOD camp and war memorial). There are laybys on both sides of the road, on the Pimperne side of the ridge. If you're coming from the Salisbury direction then you can see the barrow from the road, the layby is immediately after you've crested the hill. Coming from the opposite direction (Pimperne/Blandford Forum) the barrow isn't so obvious but the layby is. Great views over Cranborne Chase.
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