Shaftesbury & Gold Hill

Shaftesbury sits atop a steep hill commanding views across Blackmore Vale to Glastonbury Tor 22 miles away. King Alfred founded a Benedictine abbey here in 888 AD. But modern visitors come for Gold Hill, arguably England’s most photographed street, made famous by a 1973 Hovis bread advertisement.

Gold Hill is genuinely remarkable—a steep cobbled street lined with 18th-century cottages tumbling down the hillside, with Blackmore Vale spreading beyond like a patchwork quilt. The gradient is extreme—1 in 4 at its steepest—creating that dramatic descent photographers find irresistible.

But Shaftesbury offers more than one famous street. The Abbey ruins tell the story of one of England’s wealthiest nunneries. The Abbey Museum and Garden showcase archaeological finds. Walking the town’s ramparts reveals why Saxons chose this position.

The Hovis Connection: That 1973 advertisement became one of Britain’s most beloved commercials, voted the nation’s favourite multiple times. It crystallised a particular vision of nostalgic England. The street became pilgrimage site for those seeking that idealised past.