Gold Hill is in the centre of the historic English Saxon town of Shaftesbury,l Dorset in Southern England. It is a steep, picturesque street made famous after featuring in the popular British 1970s TV advert for Hovis bread.
In the nostalgic advert, a boy pushes his bicycle up Gold Hill to deliver a loaf of bread before freewheeling back down to the baker’s to the soundtrack of Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The commercial is often voted Britain’s favourite of all time.
The view looking down from the top of the street has been described as “one of the most romantic sights in England” and often appears on the covers of calendars, books and chocolate boxes.
There’s much to see and do at Gold Hill; at the top of the street is the 14th-century St Peter’s Church, one of the few buildings remaining in Shaftesbury from before the 18th century.
The ancient cobbled street runs beside the Grade I listed walls of the ancient Shaftesbury Abbey built by King Alfred the Great.
There are many glorious walks to be enjoyed around Gold Hill, and marellous views over Blackmore Vale, featured in this video.