Walking Sue Gearing

Walking quiz in the heart of Mendip

THIS circular walk is a great way to find out more about the heart of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on Mendip. We are on the eve of 2022 which is a significant date – the 50th anniversary of the setting up of the Mendip Hills AONB. As Christmas and New Year is for many a time of quizzes, I thought it might be fun to give you a few simple questions to answer as you go round. The answers are all there for you! Sadly, I am not giving any prizes. This is not a long walk but has quite a lot of uphill. The paths are easy to follow and should be relatively mud-free. There are no stiles and it would be a great outing for dogs. At the start is a cafe (open Thursdays to Sundays) and a food van at the lower car park, open at the weekend. PARK: Near the bottom of Burrington Combe in the Rock of Ages car park (the one with a toilet) and next to Rock Cafe. There is an information board there which you need to read.

START: What is the name of the nearby cave where 50 skeletons were found? The cave is up the road on the left if you want to go up and look afterwards, but take care on the road.

Cross the road and take a look at the cleft in the rock, which is the Rock of Ages.

Who wrote the hymn Rock of Ages?

Cross back and take the path at the side of the toilet, through a gate. Go past the Rock Cafe, a great place to start or finish this walk (open Thursday-Sunday). Then continue down the combe.

This area at the bottom of the combe will be changing quite radically in the next few years as Yeo Valley, the owner, has great plans for renovation and to make it a gateway to the Mendip Hills.

1. THE LINK

Just past the car park with the trees, turn right on the Link. Follow this as it climbs above Burrington village. At the triangle of grass keep straight on up.

2. GATE

At the top, reach a gate on the right. The stony track continues to rise, going past disturbed ground, the result of mining for calamine and lead. Reach a signpost, where we go right on the footpath. What activities are allowed on the bridleway which we are leaving?

Our path goes up under a beautiful avenue of silver birches.

The origin of this avenue is shrouded in the mist of time, but it could have been the work of the first warden of the AONB, Tom Elkin, who had a lot of these saplings left over after a job and made an avenue here on the footpath which he had created to reach Burrington Camp.

Stay under the birches, ignoring a turning left. Eventually the path bears left and reaches the open area.

3. CAMP

Go ahead, bearing right to reach Burrington Camp and the outer ditch and bank, and an information board, a Journey Through Time.

This camp and surrounds has been well maintained and cleared in recent years thanks to the work of Sir David Wills who manages the area.

How many phases were there to the building of the camp? When was it started?

To have a look round you can go up the bank into the camp and then return here. There are great views across Wrington Vale. Take the path to the left of the noticeboard. This takes you past the camp (on your right) and is heading towards the edge of Burrington Combe. Keep on to the edge where there is a magnificent viewpoint over the combe and Rock of Ages. But do take great care and keep children well under control as it is not fenced and there is a sheer drop.

Go back up the path and take a path on the right (if you missed out the viewpoint, it would be the path on your left). Shortly, join another path and bear left through trees, bushes and bracken and eventually come up to a distinctive rocky ridge.

This is part of the earth movement of about 3 million years ago.

4. LONG ROCK

Reach the end of the ridge at Long Rock, another good viewpoint where you can see both lakes, Blagdon and Chew and the beautiful valley spread out below. Turn away 90 degrees from Long Rock and head up the grassy path. Ignore side paths and just stay on the right-hand path going straight on and then climbing more steeply to the top. Now there are views across the combe to Black Down. Again, take care as it is a sheer drop.

5. GRASSY TRACK

Turn left on the grassy track and continue in this direction, parallel to the combe, and joining a larger grassy track further on. Notice the red and white sign on a low post opposite as you join the track, and further on too.

These are part of an orienteering route up on the Ham. In the spring there should be a wonderful display of bluebells here thanks to the clearance that has taken place over the past few years.

Continue on and notice several ridges which cross the path.

These are the remains of Bronze Age field systems here on the Ham.

Reach a crossing with a large grassy swathe.

What is the low post ahead?

Turn right and reach an information board.

Burrington Ham is a Site of what, and why?

6. HAM CAR PARK

Go through the gate and down the rocky path to the Ham car park and another board.

What animals are you likely to see on the Ham and Black Down?

Cross the road here with care and turn left up the grassy verge. Turn right by Ellick House and continue uphill on this track for several minutes to a gate onto the edge of Black Down.

What long distance paths are you on here?

7. BLACK DOWN

Turn right and soon fork left and start the climb up on to Black Down getting great views as you go. There may be some boggy patches. Eventually reach a lone tree and here turn left on a stony path and follow it to the trig point at Beacon Batch.

OS Explorer map 141. Cheddar Gorge & Mendip Hills West, grid ref 476587, postcode BS40 7AU. 4.5 miles, about 2-3 hours walking.

8. BEACON BATCH

What is the height here above sea level?

Near the trig are two Bronze Age round barrows and several more around Black Down. You will notice that they are hollowed out. This is the work of the notorious Rev Skinner who in the mid 1800s dug out the grave treasures from umpteen barrows on Mendip. Little is known of what happened to it all. The memorial plaque on one side is a bit of a mystery.

Take the stony path which goes due west from the trig.

You may spot one or two round plastic bolts in the ground. They were put in to measure erosion on the paths.

Soon come alongside huge mounds, or tumps.

They were set up during WW2 after the fall of Europe to protect us against invasion by glider-born landings and it was part of the Decoy City. This was meant to fool the enemy into thinking that this was Canons Marsh and Temple Meads in Bristol. They were illuminated by light boxes from generator boxes down on the south side of Black Down. You will notice lines of tumps going off at right angles on each side as you progress – all part of the huge grid pattern of the decoy city. Some of the tumps have been seriously eroded by cattle.

At a fork, take the stony path on the right. There are great views across the estuary to Steep Holm and Flat Holm islands.

What trail is signed up here?

Continue until, well before the forest ahead, reach a junction of tracks.

9. CHEDDAR PATH

Go right on the wide grassy bridleway, dropping downhill. This is also known as the Cheddar Path – because it leads across the Down to Cheddar.

You may well encounter some Exmoor ponies around here. They are not tame so don’t attempt to approach or feed them. They are here to graze the area and are doing a great job.

Keep along this track to the foot and go into trees, through a barrier.

Opposite is the Bristol University Speliological Society hut.

Turn right on the track. It eventually becomes hard under foot and takes you all the way down to Burrington Combe. Cross and turn right back to where you parked. Answers on page 111.