Milk Hill, located near Alton Priors east of

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...

, is the highest point in the county of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, southwest

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, at some above sea level (the adjacent Tan Hill rises to 294 m). It is the location of the Alton Barnes white horse (a hill figure cut in 1812). On 23 August 2009, the BBC programme ''

Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker ...

'' featured an item on analysis by

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

to determine whether Milk or Tan Hill is the higher. It was confirmed that Milk Hill is higher than Tan Hill. Alton Barnes White Horse - geograph

Located at the western edge of the

Vale of Pewsey The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey. Geography The vale is an extent of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbury ...

(part of the

North Wessex Downs The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name ''North Wessex Downs'' is not a traditional one, the area covered being better kno ...

AONB), it is also the highest summit along a 50 km ridge extending all the way from the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...

, across the southern Chilterns and into Wiltshire. Milk Hill is the second highest point between

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

after

Walbury Hill Walbury Hill is a summit of the North Wessex Downs in Berkshire, England. With an elevation of , it is the highest natural point in South East England. On the hill's summit is the Iron Age hill fort of Walbury Camp, whilst the flanks of the hill ...

West Berkshire West Berkshire is a local government district in Berkshire, England, administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council. History The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbury, Bradfield Rural Distric ...

(297 m / 974 ft.), and is thus also the second highest chalk hill in the UK, again behind Walbury Hill, though it has a slightly greater prominence. Milk Hill is frequently used by the Thames Valley Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club. It was the starting point for longest hang-glider flight ever in the UK on 10 May 2011 by Nev Almond. It was also the starting point for the longest paraglider flight in the UK, by Mark Watts on 3 August 2014: 275.5 kilometres, to near Felbrigg in Norfolk.Cross Country magazine Alex Coltman (M) broke the record achieved by Mark Watts in 2017 with a new 281 km Paraglider flight straight line record to Mundesley. Kirsty Cameron (F) also breaking Paragliding records in 2017 with a straight line 235.6 km flight from Milk Hill White Horse to Nr Beeston. Also gaining a declared goal record with Luke Nicol and Mark Watts. Milk Hill continues to be one of the best locations in England for free flight. Views are extensive from here, as far as the

Mendips The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...

and

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

and in very clear weather as far as the Black Mountains in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, making this one of the most southeasterly points in the UK from which high mountain country can be sighted.

References

Thames Valley Hang Gliding Club
Hills of Wiltshire Highest points of English counties {{Wiltshire-geo-stub