Gold Hill is a steep cobbled street in the town of Shaftesbury in the English county of Dorset.
It is famous for its picturesque appearance; the view looking down from the top of the street has been described as "one of the most romantic sights in England."
Gold Hill has also been used as a setting for film and television.
It appears in the 1967 film version of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd.
The street is the main setting for the 1973 "Boy on Bike" television advertisement for Hovis bread, which has been voted Britain's favourite advertisement of all time.
The voiceover for the advert is provided by the delivery boy who is now grown up.
He is reminiscing about his days as a youngster when he did his bread round.
To the sound of a brass band playing Dvorak's New World Symphony, he states:
'Last stop on round would be Old Ma Peggoty's place.
'T'was like taking bread to top of the world.
'T'was a grand ride back though. I'd knew baker have kettle on and doorsteps of old Hovis ready.
'"There's wheatgearm in that loaf," he'd day.
"Get it inside you boy and you'll be going up that hill as fast as you come down.'"
The boy is seen in the advert struggling to push his bike to the top of the hill but is sat astride it and joyously freewheeling down it after making the delivery.He is then seen returning to the bakery and tucking into Hovis bread.
It was directed by Ridley Scott (of Blade Runner, Aliens series fame) at the start of his career,and includes the distinctive main theme of Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9.For this reason, the hill is still known to many people as "Hovis Hill".
Gold Hill also featured in a recent advert for supermarket Morrisons.
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.
Adjacent to the church is the former Priest's House, now part of Gold Hill Museum. The ancient cobbled street runs beside the Grade I listed walls of the ancient Shaftesbury Abbey built by King Alfred the Great; the origins of the wall are not known, but it is presumed to have been built in the 1360s, when the abbess or other authority was given royal permission to build town defences.
Each year the town hosts the Gold Hill Fair to raise money for local charities.
@emma78 Thanks for your comments. Glad you remember the Hovis advert-I think most people who seen it still do remember it-that is why it got voted Britain's No.1 I guess.
Wow, what a stunner. Those houses are divine and you have captured them so well. Love the story and the history. Seem to think I know the Hovis ad, perhaps I have seen it on a visit to UK.
@shaunasauna7 Thank you for your Fav. Yes Dorset is a very beautiful place & a definite visit. In the words of The Yetties & The Wurzels song ' Dorset is beautiful wherever you go'
@tramway Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I am pleased that you have enjoyed the view! You can see the Hovis advert (1973) on You Tube although it is a bit grainy.
wow I never knew all of that! I well remember the Hovis advert and that it was filmed here but so much more background to know! What a quintessentially English picture. fav!
