Ashmore pond

The pond has never dried out naturally, which is remarkable as the water table is 300 feet below Ashmore, the highest village in Dorset. There may be evidence of a clay-lined dew pond having been here 3000 years ago, or it may have been created by the Romans, whose road from Badbury Rings to Bath passed close by.

The pond is home to the Filly Loo celebrations of midsummer. Revived in the 1950s, this custom has its roots in Celtic times. It involves traditional folk dances and characters like the Green Man and the Turkish Knight. With its celebration of light and fertility, it has pagan undertones of eroticism and violence that send a shiver down the most unimaginative spine. 

Nearest postcode: SP5 5AQ
OS reference: ST913178
What3words: softly.alley.fails