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Name:The Verne
Hill number:5431
Height:152.3m / 500ft
Parent (Ma):2896  Lewesdon Hill
RHB Section:41: South Central England
County/UA:Dorset
Catchment:Minor Rivers only (South)
Class:Hump, Tump (100-199m), Submarilyn, Clem
(Hu,Tu,1,sMa,Cm)
Grid ref:SY 69148 73862
Summit feature:W lip of grass surrounding concrete slab
Drop:143.6m
Col:8.7m  SY 5820 8290  
OS map sheet(s):(1:50k) 194
(1:25k) OL15W
Comments:Summit in Portland Prison but accessible, col on Chesil Beach
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GPS data:show GPS entries for this hill

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N.B. Some hill summits are on private property or on land where there is no public right of way.  Permission should be sought from the landowner where access to a hill summit is through private land.
Please report via the contact page any logs you see below which describe or encourage acts of trespass.  Please quote the hill number and hill name.

Logged Descriptions  (logged by 128 users, only the latest 50 shown - Show all)ByDate of Ascent
frm cp by roundabout at end of causeway, up through houses then prison road to top. Nice flat white in Jailhouse Cafe.IanHHill14/02/2024
We drove up for breakfast at the Jailhouse Cafe. A great spot. Then a short wander up to the high point. Drove down to Portland Bill before returning to Weymouth.KevPalmer15/01/2024
Arrived at 4:50 on a drizzly Tuesday afternoon. Parked up and walked around a bit. Sadly cafe had closed at 4pm. Left just after 5pm as lots of workers were clocking off.Minto04/07/2023
First visit to Weymouth and Portland. Feels rather remarkable place. Arrived at dusk. Gonna sleep the night and see it in the dawn light at sunrise.vegibagger06/08/2021
Birthday day out at HMP Verne!!! Spent the morning at Portland Bill climbing rocks and exploring the bays until rained off from the picnic. Headed to the Jailhouse Cafe and bagged the summit. Great viewsekm11/07/2021
Parked by disused stone building next to the radome at SY 6923 7388 - Less than 100m across to the W. lip of the concreted summit mound. Excellent view of Portland Harbour & Chesil Beach. (S)gerrybowes12/05/2021
Drive up, easy access and described by others. A few quick pictures of the fleet and Chesil Beach then with the Cafe closed didn't hang around.rhalstead19/04/2021
With Bevsimon and co17/10/2020
Nearest summit to home. Delighted to find I was initially reading the altimeter incorrectly. I thought we were starting at 120 meters only to discover it was feet I was looking at not meters! so increased elevation by 98 M not 30 odd as I thought! yaystagger onward09/05/2020
Drove up to the cafe car park through the tunnel. Too early for the cafe so just nipped up the grassy mound.fosal2906/02/2020
Took the opportunity to make a short visit to Portland before lunch in Weymouth at years end. Enjoyed the coastal path and the views across Chesil beach from a very windy Portland.Buck31/12/2019
As others, drove through tunnel up to car park.PGCE01/11/2019
No problem after 6 PM when the cafe closes.Eddie11/07/2019
From YHA via Freeman's Incline. Jailhouse Café is open and well worth supporting. On to Portland Bill on the SW Coast Path.summitsup31/05/2019
It seemed unlikely that the high point would be possible to visit but it is no problem. Great views back across to the mainland over the harbour and of Chesil Beach.clivevilla26/03/2019
Bag and go from car park inside the citadel near the Jailhouse café at the Verne. Sadly this café closed in June 2018. However, no problem with access to the summit hump, opposite a house with a cannon that points across Portland Harbour in its garden. KeithByTheC12/09/2018
A quick drive up to the prison, went as far as we could on an extremely wet, cloudy day.steverd29/07/2018
TD, C & HThis Dog21/07/2018
As others, parked on Jailhouse Cafe & Visitor Centre car park at SY 69239 73837.David Gradwell14/05/2018
Road access to site @ SY 7370 6847carole engel23/02/2018
After ignoring the satnav ended up on the wrong side of the prison - still outside of course. 1.6m walk back along SW Coast Path/Merchant’s Way. As has been noted before, the Jailhouse Cafe offers refreshment while the summit was easily accessible notwithstanding all the prison type notices/architecture.Newton Maximus07/12/2017
With K. Sinister place.Ashley16/11/2017
With Val. Parked at the Jailhouse Café. On summit in couple of minutes. Fantastic viewpoint. Good weather.mike.hoult10/11/2017
From the Jailhouse Cafe car park north along the road and then up the mound to the high point.Mariana Trench17/09/2017
Parked at the free car park by the south gate. Walked around the coastal path, with magnificent views, to the entrance to the citadel. Once inside followed signs for the Jailhouse Cafe and also saw a sign for the top of the hill. There is a path up the mound to the summit and the lack of interest in my movements indicates access is tolerated. A cold lemonade in the garden of the Jailhouse Cafe was very welcome on a hot day, as were the stunning views. An interesting hill, well worth a visit.Sprog15/08/2017
Walk up to prison walls onlyN.Morters14/04/2017
A 2nd visit form our cottage on our last morning -sat in the sun in the jailhouse Cafe garden looking down on the blue sea and ships loading up.Chris Pearson07/04/2017
A day exploring the 'island' of Portland on foot from our holiday pet sitting cottage (2 cats & a hedgehog!) Walked steeply uphill and through the tunnel into this 'impregnable' moated fortress- to bag this most unusual of summits. Great views - the unique Chesil beach stretching away for an incredible 18 miles (just how many pebbles is that?). The summit is within the emergency planning area (as is our cottage)in case of a radioactive leak form a nuclear sub which dock just below.If a wailing siren is heard the instructions issued (in March 17)to all locals is Go in, Stay In, Tune In. Up here you would have to ask to take shelter in either the cafe or prison to await further instructions! Thankfully no siren sounded so we continued with a 4 hr coastal walk weaving around intriguing quarrying mess and holes (one to become Jurrasica - dinosaurs brought to life in underground caverns!)-to people busy Portland Bill and sun glaring off a choppy sea.Chris Pearson01/04/2017
Drove up to Cafe car park and then visited the HP, as you could. As the grass was well trodden it looks like others have as well. Good views from HP and from the cafe garden area.PeterD30/06/2016
Great viewpointisabelle01/06/2016
In the morning haze The Verne looks a lot higher and further from Portland Marina than it is! Old incline then grassy slopes to imposing entrance on the NNW side. Jailhouse cafe sign and deep entrance tunnel is hardly inviting but in we go. Various prison services abound. Road swings left at top of ramp reaching tee junction, left reaches small covered reservoir with fine views of Portland harbour, right reached the Jailhouse cafe and pleasent grassy garden with commanding views. Enjoy a piece of gooy toffee cake and good coffee before returning to marina ready to 'round the Bill' and the long sail accross Lyme Bay to Torquay.RichardM13/03/2016
Bagged with Seumas and Sarah after a nice second breakfast in the Jailhouse Cafe.assynt_bob05/01/2016
Bagged this nice hill with mummy and daddy following a short walk from the Jailhouse Cafe. Nice views :-)Seumas Kerr05/01/2016
Exploration of Portland lead us to the artillery housing. The prison was an obvious barrier to the true top but we walked around the walls to the closest point to the top, without serving Under Her Majesty's pleasureChinnockC24/08/2015
4/5 Easy quick bag, with arresting views...Fergalh15/08/2015
Well earned mug of hot chocolate purchased at the Jailhouse Cafe with Douglas and Smudge.Alex C27/03/2015
Tick with Alex and Smudge.Dugswell227/03/2015
60 seconds from car park then afternoon tea in cafe.Smudge27/03/2015
Family camping trip to Weymouth. Drove through the tunnel to the cafe carpark. The only higher points looked man made so was satisfied with that.Herbert Anchovy23/08/2014
Revisit with a fellow bagger - unfortunately we were too early for the cafe.Chris Peart01/07/2014
Café visited plus various knolls round prison, looking for moths and butterflies. Visited the HP described in the website with Pete on 3/6/2023, cafe open and popular, served by carefully vetted jailbirds so the Purbeck poisoner should be safely locked up!pwheeler25/06/2014
Took a chance and went to jail. Did not go directly to jail, but walked up from Fortuneswell. Passed Go when the traffic light turned green. Did not collect £200. Instead climbed the highest mound and got an excellent coffee from the café (open Mon - Fri, 10 - 3). Brilliant views over Portland harbour. Got out of jail free.malcorbett28/05/2014
Drove up to the cafe car park. The summit was rather unsatisfactory as it appeared to be man-made but then all of the summit area has been landscaped. There is a terrific view from the cafe garden.Chris Peart14/04/2014
Summit inside the Citadel is accessible to the general public when the cafe is open (web search 'Jailhouse Cafe Verne' for details). High point about 80m from cafe car park.mae14/03/2014
Even at non visiting time, when cafe was closed, drove through tunnel and up to summit cafe car park.jimbloomer01/03/2014
Fantastic views across Weymouth Harbour from the Hard Rock Cafe next to water tank summit!Campbell Singer23/09/2013
Must have been visiting time as I just cycled up through tunnel and round corner and up to a car-park until someone was coming out of a doorway so I beat a hasty retreat.chalky195323/11/2012
Didn\'t enter the prison but as close to the top as possible.dc9624/10/2012
Not possible to gain the precise summit of this HuMp, unless you want to get banged up! And that is going above and beyond for the sake of hill bagging. The HuMp is located within a prison. We got within 25m of the given GR and still stayed outside the walls, am happy with claiming a bag at that distance. ***Revisited 10 Dec 2015. Prison is an IRC - Immigrant Repatriation Centre. Access possible for public visiting the Jailhouse Cafe, which in turn allows access to HP.jonglew22/09/2012
Drove w Jenx to nearest point and walked to high point, top visible. No wish to join inmates so held back at barbed wire.nordicstar12/05/2012