Few people seem to know about the Blackdown Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1991, on the Somerset / Devon border. Walking across these beautiful hills or even driving across them, it’s hard to believe we’re in the 21st century. Parts are heavily wooded, the rest a patchwork of fields. Ancient farmhouses are dotted about between ancient villages. You can imagine what a pleasure it is to walk, cycle or ride across these hills.
If you fancy the idea of a break away roaming an area of outstanding natural beauty, then you ought to consider staying with us here at The Castle Hotel, the finest luxury hotel near the Blackdown Hills.
Next time you’re motoring south down the M5, watch for the tall stone monument atop the hills, the western flank of the Blackdown Hills, to your left. That’s Wellington Monument, built to honour the Duke of Wellington after he’d defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
There’s plenty of historical interest too. Dunkeswell airfield on top of the Blackdowns was the only US Navy airbase in the UK during World War II. It’s now a private airfield used by flying enthusiasts and sky divers.
Now a series of earthen ramparts, Castle Neroche was once an iron age hill fort and later a simple Norman motte and bailey castle. The other fortification in the Blackdown Hills is Hembury hill fort, a prehistoric fort later occupied by the Romans and now a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Other beautiful features of Somerset worth visiting include: Glastonbury, Dunster, Exmoor, the Brendon Hills, the Lorna Doone Secret Valley, Forde Abbey, the Mendip Hills, Porlock and Porlock Weir, the Quantock Hills, the Somerset Levels and Wells. |
