Somerset

Part of the South West peninsular of England, Somerset is a predominantly rural county and a major holiday destination. It's popularity is hardly surprising considering the rich mixture of quiet pastoral landscapes, wild moors, stunning limestone gorges and the spectacular northern coastline. Five ranges of hills, the Mendips, the Quantocks, the Poldens, the Blackdowns, and the Brendons, provide wonderful walking and spectacular views. South Somerset is a rural idyll with gentle landscapes, sleepy villages and colourful beauty in the fields, orchards and woods. The important and hauntingly beautiful Somerset Levels provides a complete contrast to the deep and dramatic Cheddar Gorge with its soaring limestone cliffs, and yet these different landscapes are but a few miles apart.

The west of the county is dominated by the magnificent Exmoor National Park, a walker's paradise. Softer, benign and more compact than Dartmoor, there is still a feeling of space and wilderness on the open moors. The many enticing combes through which tumble sparkling streams add to the walker's delight. Further east the Quantock Hills provide more splendid walks on a more intimate scale. In the east of the county the deep limestone gorges and caves of the Mendip Hills provide a stunningly different landscape. Stone from Mendip quarries was used to build the magnificent Wells cathedral and many other fine churches in Somerset. The central and southern areas are a undulating pastoral landscape of farmland, woods and quiet rivers. For such a small area the landscape is remarkably varied. Dramatic wooded escarpments drop down to the broad sweep of the Blackmore Vale and contrast vividly with the flat moorlands of the rivers Yeo, Ile and Parrett that stretch towards the Somerset Levels.The Vale of Taunton Deane south of the Quantocks gives a taste of peaceful, pleasant walking.
To the south of the Mendips lie the ecologically important Somerset Levels, one of Europe's most important wetlands.This area, often referred to as the Plain of Sedgemoor, is a low-lying landscape of willow edged quiet streams which drain into the rivers Parrett and Brue, which, in turn, flow into the Bristol Channel. The maze of drainage ditches, or Rhines, criss-crossing the Levels do not make for easy walking, but running through the centre of this region are the Polden Hills; although these are never more than 300ft high they provide the means to walk and explore this area and provide good views across the Levels to the north and south.

 

  Guide Books: [For further information or to purchase]

Walking in Somerset by: James Roberts. 40 circular walks of between 3 and 12 miles. Locations include: Luxborough & Lype Hill; Washford Valley; Kilve Shore; Holford & Hodder's Combe; Wills Neck; Dunster & Grabbist Hill; Haddeo Valley; Dulverton; Winsford Hill & the Barle Valley; Selworthy & Hurlstone Point; Porlock Weir and Culbone; Horner & Stoke Pero; Simonsbath; Black Down & Burrington Combe; Dolebury Warren; Compton Hill & Wavering Down; Goblin Combe & Brockley Wood; Butcombe; Failand; Priddy; Bathampton Down; Limpley Stoke Valley; Chew Valley & Stanton Drew; Ebbor Gorge; Orchardleigh; Launcherley Hill; Staple Fitzpaine; Pitminster; Churchstanton; Langford Budville; Corton Denham & Cadbury Castle; Shepton Montague; Purse Caudle; Stourhead; Bruton; Muchelney Abbey; Glastonbury Tor; Chedzoy & Sutton Mallet; Montacute & Ham Hill.
Village Walks in Somerset by: Anne-Marie Edwards. Within, or close to Somerset's villages lies a rich heritage of old manor houses, ruined abbeys, thatched cottages, parish churches, rivers and footpaths. In fact the county offers everything a walker could wish for. Five ranges of hills, the Mendips, the Quantocks, the Poldens, the Blackdowns, and the Brendons, provide wonderful walking and spectacular views. The great plain known as The Levels, one of Europe's most important wetlands, forms the heart of Somerset and to the west lies Exmoor. The book contains twenty circular routes which vary in length from 4 to 7.5 miles. The villages on which they are based have been chosen for their interest and beauty. Among the most picturesque are Selworthy, Crowcombe and Nunney.
Walking on the Mendip Hills by: Sue Gearing This guide presents twelve circular walks in the glorious Mendip Hills, a landscape of myth, mystery and legend. Rich in history, and diverse in aspect, this area has a quality unique in the south west of England. Well known author Sue Gearing threads the story of Mendip's past into a series of straightforward and enjoyable walks, each described in detail and accompanied by a simple route map. The selection of routes provides a comprehensive exploration of this AONB, a dramatic landscape of gorges, caves, outcrops and wooded slopes.
Pub Walks in Somerset by: Mike Power. 30 circular walks varying in length from 2 to 7.5 miles. Each route, which radiates from a pub is described in detail and accompanied by a sketch map. There are pleasant walks across Sedge Moor, beside rivers, along canals and through glorious bluebell woods. Also included are a scenic ramble around Blagdon Lake and a coastal stroll from West Huntspill beside Stockland Reach. More demanding hikes take you high onto the Mendips, Quantock and Brendon Hills plus invigorating climbs up Winsford Hill and Ham Hill, source of the lovely ham stone synonymous with Somerset buildings. Most of the walks are from peaceful villages such as Appley, Combe Hay, Dowlish Wake, Kingsdon, Knapp, Luxborough, Wambrook, Withypool and Winsford to name but a few.
Somerset, Wiltshire and the Mendips Walks by: Brian Conduit. Locations include: Nunney Combe; Nettlebridge and Harridge Wood; Devizes and Caen Hill Locks; Leigh Woods and the Avon Gorge; Ilminster and Herne Hill; Langport and Muchelney Abbey; Axbridge and Cheddar Reservoir; Salisbury and Old Sarum; Lacock and Bowden Park; Fovant Down; Old and New Wardour Castles; Weston Woods and Sand Bay; West Kennett and Silbury Hill; Glastonbury; Uffington Monuments and Vale of the White Horse; Ham Hill, Montacute and Norton Sub Hamdon; Cadbury Castle and the Corton Ridge; Hinton Charterhouse and Wellow; Bradford-on-Avon, Westwood and Avoncliff; Pewsey Downs; Cheddar Gorge; Tollard Royal and Win Green; Barbury Castle and Ogbourne St Andrew; Wells, Ebbor Gorge and Wookey Hole; Savernake Forest; Burrington Combe, Dolebury Warren and Black Down.
Waterside Walks in Somerset by: Charles Whynne-Hammond. 20 circular routes between 2 and 6 miles. Locations are: Hawk Combe and Porlock; The River Exe at Winsford; The Washford River and Roadwater; Hodder's Combe and Holford; Hawkridge Reservoir and Spaxton; Hillfarrance Brook and Milverton; Creech St Michael; The Blackdown Streams, Corfe and Pitminster; The Westport Canal, Hambridge and The Levels; The River Parrett at Langport; The River Brue at Meare; The River Yeo at Ilchester and Yeovilton; The King's Sedgemoor Drain and Bawdrip; Uphill and the Axe Estuary; Cheddar Reservoir and Axbridge; The River Chew and Chew Magna; The Upper Mells River from Holcombe; The Lower Mells River at Mells; The River Brue at Bruton; The Cam Meadows and Cadbury Castle.
Somerset from Bath to the Quantocks - Short Walks by: Dennis and Jan Kelsall. Features include clear and easy to follow instructions and detailed Ordnance Survey Explorer mapping with the route clearly highlighted. 20 routes to choose from. Locations are: Cadbury Camp; Brean Down; Barrington Combe; Wookey and Ebbor Gorge; Kilve and East Quantoxhead; Will's Neck and the Triscombe Stone; The willow beds around Stoke St Gregory; Nine Springs; Bathford Hill and Monkton Farleigh; Monkton Combe; Crook Peak; Priddy and its burial mounds; Nether Stowey; Fyne Court and Broomfield; the Parrett between Langport and Muchelney Abbey; Ham Hill and Montacute; Farleigh Hungerford; Wellow to Stony Littleton; Great Elm and Mells; Cheddar Gorge and Velvet Bottom.
Exmoor and the Quantocks by: Brian Conduit. 28 walks. Locations are: East Quantoxhead and Kilve; Hunter's Inn and Woody Bay; Dulverton; Porlock Weir and Culbone; Lynton and Valley of Rocks; North Hill; Dunster Park and Withycombe Hill; Roadwater and Nettlecombe; Pittcombe Head and Robber's Bridge; little and Great Hangman; Brendon Forest; Lynmouth and Watersmeet; Wills Neck and Triscombe Combe; Exford and Room Hill; Hurlstone and Selworthy Beacon; Hawkridge and Anstey Common; the Foreland and Countisbury Common; Winsford Hill; Simonsbath and the River Barle; Haddon Hill and Wimbleball Lake; Parracombe and Challacombe Commons; Quantock Combes and Ridge; Porlock, Horner Wood and Stoke Pero; Dunkery Beacon; Lorna Doone Country; Withypool and Tarr Steps; County Gate, Brendon and Malmsmead Hill; The Chains.
Literary Strolls in Wiltshire and Somerset by: Gordon Ottewell. 40 attractive strolls throughout Wiltshire and Somerset, each with a strong literary association. In Somerset, the strolls trace the local connections with the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and T.S. Eliot, the romantic novels of R.D. Blackmore and a celebration of natural history with E.W. Hendy, the 'Birdman of Exmoor', plus dozens more. Locations include: Wells, Frome and Cheddar Area - Wrington; Camerton; Beckington; Orchardleigh. Yeovil and Somerton Area - Ansford; Lytes Cary; Langport; Odcombe; East Coker. Quantocks Area - Alfoxton Park; Nether Stowey; Stogumber; Aisholt; West Bagborough; Combe Florey. Exmoor Area - Oare; Luccombe; Exford; Dulverton.
Best Tea Shop Walks in Somerset by: Elizabeth Fowler. Somerset often gets overlooked by tourists on their way to the honeyspots of Devon and Cornwall. Armed with this book, this county of contrasts can be discovered by all those willing to slip on a pair of walking boots and stride out into the easy-going landscape of the Somerset countryside. The 23 walks are all circular, from 2 to 9 miles. They are ideal for family outings and they all fall into the easy/moderate category with no strenuous climbs or hazardous descents to worry about. The walks are surprisingly varied, going through flower-strewn meadows, alongside ancient orchards, on cliffsides with views far out to sea and along canals with remnants of the Industrial Revolution.

 

Tourist information:
Somerset County website www.somerset.gov.uk
South Somerset website www.southsomerset.gov.uk