A walk through the west Dorset countryside has been named among the very best in the UK.

Times writer Christopher Somerville has been writing about walks for 50 years and highlighted the outstanding beauty of the Powerstock and Eggardon Hill ramble.

He placed it second on his list of top 50 walks in the UK for this summer.

He says: "A classic walk through the heart of Thomas Hardy's Dorset, to stride the Iron Age ramparts of Eggardon Hill.

"There are breathtaking views from here, far and wide across rolling green vales and hills.

"A streak of white and gold in the south shows where the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast are crumbling into the sea.

The walk begins at St Mary's Church, Powerstock, passing the Three Horseshoes pub then crossing fields, down woodland paths and across an old railway line.

You then pass the Spyway Inn and head to South Eggardon House before taking a circuit of Eggardon Hill and taking a different route back over a footbridge and along a streamside path.

He recommends the Marquis of Lorne in Nettlecombe and The Three Horseshoes in Powerstock as ideal places to stop for lunch.