How to read a hillfort on the ground
A few clues help you see the banks, ditches and gateways under the grass.
Opening times, entry and access change. Check with English Heritage, the National Trust, Historic Environment Scotland or the site you’re visiting before you set off. Details here show the date we checked them.
What to look for
- A hillfort with several ramparts is called “multivallate”, meaning multiple ramparts. English Heritage: History of Old Oswestry Hillfort
- A “univallate” fort is a hilltop enclosure with a single rampart, a ditch and a low counterscarp bank. National Trust: History of Cissbury Ring
- Counterscarp: the low bank on the outer side of a hillfort’s ditch. National Trust: History of Cissbury Ring
- Entrances began as simple gaps but were rebuilt into long entrance corridors, so people coming in could be watched. English Heritage: Description of Old Oswestry Hillfort
- Its defences, with three ramparts, can still be seen, and you can spot the footprints of Iron Age roundhouses. National Trust: Exploring Hambledon Hill
Free to visit (checked 3 Nov 2026)
English Heritage lists Maiden Castle as free entry, open any reasonable time in daylight hours. English Heritage: Maiden Castle · checked 3 Nov 2026 Old Oswestry is free entry, open any reasonable time in daylight hours. English Heritage: Old Oswestry Hillfort · checked 3 Nov 2026
Uffington Castle is free entry, open any reasonable time in daylight hours. English Heritage: Uffington Castle, White Horse and Dragon Hill · checked 3 Nov 2026 Blackbury Camp is free entry, open any reasonable time in daylight hours. English Heritage: Blackbury Camp · checked 3 Nov 2026
The Caterthuns are free to visit and open all year. Historic Environment Scotland: Brown and White Caterthuns, plan your visit · checked 3 Nov 2026
Hambledon Hill’s countryside is open dawn to dusk. National Trust: Hambledon Hill · checked 3 Nov 2026
Castell Henllys (checked 3 Nov 2026)
Castell Henllys village opens every day 10am to 5pm from 30 March to 1 November. Pembrokeshire Coast National Park: About Castell Henllys · checked 3 Nov 2026
Before you set off
The site is very exposed, with no shelter. English Heritage: Maiden Castle
English Heritage recommends strong footwear at Old Oswestry, which has steep paths and uneven ground. English Heritage: Old Oswestry Hillfort
At Old Oswestry sheep and cattle graze, so dogs must be kept on leads. English Heritage: Old Oswestry Hillfort
See the finds
Finds from Danebury are on show at the Museum of the Iron Age in Andover. Hampshire Cultural Trust: Museum of the Iron Age
Next: the big facts page →