Quantock Hills. An Area of Outstanding Beauty

A joint patrol over the hills with Police Community Support Officer Sue Marks proved to be very worthwhile.  The main aim of the patrol was to alert people using BBQs to their responsibilities when out on the hills.  At Ramscombe in Great Wood all of the purpose built BBQs were being used therefore many people were using disposable ones.  Unfortunately, some were placed directly onto the dry grass thereby scorching it.  All these people were spoken to and asked to make sure that their sites were dowsed with water once finished.
Some people had open fires which are not permitted under any circumstances and were told to extinguish them promptly.  One fire was found completely unattended and still burning … we put this one out!
Patrolling the open hill top along the Crowcombe - Stowey road revealed more BBQ use on the grass … the danger and illegality of this practice was explained and users were asked to extinguish them.  Everyone spoken to during the patrol was completely co-operative.
Sue and I also cleared up 6 previous ‘camp fire’ sites as these might attract further use and also looked untidy.  Towards the end of the day a check at Cothelstone Hill revealed a large group of people using one of the picnic sites.  They had a big metal BBQ and a disposable BBQ, both scorching the grass.  We moved them onto the gravel area, the scorched grass was dowsed with water and the users asked to extinguish their BBQs before leaving the site.
Another problem, as you will see in the photo, is people cutting the live vegetation (in this instance an old hawthorn) to fuel their fires – this not only damages the hills but is illegal as the Quantock Hills are a nationally Protected Area.
If another “BBQ summer” is coming, it is vital that we all help to restrict the ever present danger of fires and the serious impact they can have on wildlife and habitats.  Please remember no open fires are permitted anywhere on the hills.