Quantock Hills. An Area of Outstanding Beauty

Perhaps not quite as exciting as ‘Don’t Feed the Bears’ in Jellystone National Park … but a very important message none the less.

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You may remember a recent blog of mine showing a deep freeze dumped amongst the trees … well, we removed it and it was replaced a couple of days later by even more rubbish.

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It appears that climate change has already reached the Quantocks!  The ‘deep freeze’ has already arrived in our ancient oak forests.

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Sunday’s fungus foray at Durborough Farm was yet again a great success.  The day involved a morning and afternoon walk in the fields and woods on Janet White’s farm above Aisholt.

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Last Sunday I led a guided walk along the Quantock Hills section of The Coleridge Way.  The route we took was circular so that we ended up in the same car park where we left our vehicles.  We started at Holford Village Green car park and followed the old coach drive into Alfoxton Park.  This is where the Wordsworths resided at the same time that Coleridge lived in Nether Stowey.  We were lucky enough to see a large herd of red deer on the fields below the drive.

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Volunteers Dave Pusill and Chris Tilley ably assisted with removing yet more illegal rubbish dumped on the hills. This load was reported to us by a local horse rider and was down in the bottom of Merridge Common.

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Last Thursday a minibus load of Quantock Conservation Volunteers (armed with binos and sarnies) headed north to Gloucestershire to the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust HQ at Slimbridge.

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There are always issues to deal with on such potentially busy days and August Bank Holiday Monday is usually a good one!  What was it going to be today … hill fires, motorbikes, lost people or sheep worrying?

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Sunshine in August?!  Seems a bit unusual … but last Sunday’s patrol was blessed with blue skies.  People were out taking advantage of wonderful conditions, and Kilve Beach seemed to be the place to be!

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Yesterday’s guided walk described in the events programme as a ‘Quantock classic’ lived up to its title.

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Last Sunday I spent the morning with PCSO Louise Fyne patrolling the main hilltop car parks and putting up warning signs for the public about leaving valuables in their cars.  It has been noticed that a couple of vehicles had recently been targeted at Lydeard Hill car park.  As always the joint presence of Police and Ranger helps to highlight the issues of rural crime and hopefully get important messages across.

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The AONB Service attended its first village fete of the summer on Saturday at Nether Stowey and were able to try out their new gazebo.  Being in Nether Stowey was a bit like ‘coming home’ and we were able to catch up with old friends.

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Quantock Conservation Volunteers once again ‘earned their stripes’ picking up bags of litter from the hills.

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A few weeks ago volunteer Chris Tilley helped me put up a bench on Cothelstone Hill, something we’ve wanted to do for some time!  The bench is at the top of the easy-access trail and is positioned to have wonderful views down the Merridge valley and beyond to the Somerset coast.

It was great to see people making use of it during this wonderful Easter weather!

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I hooked up with National Trust Ranger Paul Camp for a joint patrol.  He is more used to the windswept wilds of Exmoor and was rather ‘blown away’ by the number of visitors making use of the Ramscombe site!  We managed to speak to a number of people about sensible use of their BBQs in such dry conditions … Ramscombe is the perfect location for this and indeed, our only official BBQ site in the hills.

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Over the last couple of weeks the volunteers have been out putting up new information posts in the main hilltop car parks.  The posts have the name of the location and map reference routed into the timber.  The first one went up at Lydeard Hill car park and within 5 minutes of it going in a member of the public commented on how useful (and sensible) the map reference addition was!

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Somerset, unlike many other Counties still has its old original cast iron road signs (dating back to early last century).  A heritage project a few years ago managed to get funding to repair a number of these old signs throughout the Quantock Hills AONB, and the project has been adopted by other AONBs in England and Wales.

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Quantock Countryside Volunteers made a fantastic improvement to Lydeard Hill car park last Thursday by clearing a dense block of gorse from along the fence line.  The gorse had grown up over a number of years and gradually obscured the view from this hilltop car park. 

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Last week Andy and I contributed to this coming Sunday’s (23rd) BBC Countryfile programme.

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As we do every morning we were checking on the herd of Exmoor Ponies, and having to break the ice in their drinking trough.  Andy was with some volunteers who were working on a task, clearing bramble from the pony corral.

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Drifting snow on the hilltops and a wind chill of minus 16 turned the soft and gentle Quantocks into the tundra!  Snowfall on Friday afternoon soon had the autumnal hills looking like a Christmas card.

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Patrick Watts – Mabbott from Exmoor National Park led the walk through woodland and across old hillside pastures introducing participants to the amazing array of fungi to be found on this environmentally-friendly farm.

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Good autumn weather always attracts large numbers of people to the hills … the tree colours have been stunning against clear blue skies, possibly the Quantocks at their best!

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Andy has been busy taking people out to witness the annual deer rut … one of the most exciting wildlife events in the Quantock calendar.  It is important to remember that the deer can be pretty evident at this time of year and therefore more vulnerable to less respectful attention.

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Following on from my previous blog about flytipping, I am delighted to report that three men from Wellington were successfully prosecuted for fly tipping on the Quantock Hills.

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As part of the Marine Conservation Society’s beach clean events Quantock Conservation Volunteers spent the morning picking up litter from Kilve Beach.

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One of the most frustrating and annoying things that Rangers come across is fly-tipping.

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Having not long come back from a wet holiday in Cornwall, typically I came back to work with clear blue skies and wall to wall sunshine …

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Torrential rain threatened to put a bit of a ‘dampner’ on this popular AONB Service event.

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Quantocks AONB hosted a visit by Young Rangers from the Mendip hills AONB.

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A continued spell of dry sunny weather has meant that the hills have been a popular destination with visitors since half term.

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Rangers led a walk at the weekend from Staple Plain (via Beacon Hill and Smith’s Combe) down to the coast at East Quantoxhead.  The weather was glorious and views fro the hills were stunning.

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Pupils from Year 6 at Nether Stowey Primary School ‘escaped’ the classroom to look at erosion issues on the hilltops as part of their school project.

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Under a new Conservation Grazing Scheme, Exmoor Ponies are being introduced onto Lydeard Hill.  Lydeard Hill is part of the Cothelstone Estate and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest representing important heathland, plants and animals.

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The Quantock Hills AONB hosted a conference on Ticks & Tick Borne diseases at Halsway Manor on Tuesday.

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It was disappointing to find the remains of an illegal camp at Sandy Beds (part of Somerset County Council’s Amenity Land Estate). 

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The recent dry weather has allowed part of the circular trail around Cothelstone Hill to be improved.

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The last day of the Easter Holidays was sunny and dry … the perfect day for people to enjoy our beautiful hills before the children return to school.  However … recent fires on the hills have made it important for Rangers to maintain a vigilant watch out for any fire potential.

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Spring seems to have finally arrived and Rangers Tim Russell and Andy Harris began the season with a concerted litter pick between Cothelstone and The Pines.

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Along with all our other Bank Holiday incidents, we were also able to help a woman who had sustained a serious ankle injury in the woods near Lady’s Fountain.

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A double bank holiday weekend gave people plenty of opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors and the Quantocks are stunning in spring time.

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Over the next three weeks Rangers will be out on the hills organising the annual swaling programme.  Swaling (heather burning) is carried out to maintain the nationally important heathlands that the Quantocks are so well known for.

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Glorious weather brought many visitors out onto the hills at the weekend. 

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Rangers had thought they had seen almost everything on the hills . . .

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Water was also delivered to one other hill resident whose own water supply had frozen up!  The ability to get out and about on the quad bike has proved invaluable and allowed access to the hilltops and ensured that the AONB Service herd of Exmoor Ponies on Cothelstone Hill have been checked on a daily basis.

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Having been called out over Christmas and the New Year to try to retrieve recreational 4x4 vehicles stuck on the hills far from the nearest road, the Rangers would like to remind potential users that it is illegal to drive off-road on the Quantocks without the specific permission of the landowner.

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Christmas and New Year is generally a busy time for the Rangers …

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High winds, wet ground and stormy conditions have caused plenty of tree damage throughout the AONB. 

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A beautiful autumn day attracted large numbers of visitors to the hills. Car parks were full to bursting and walkers, cyclists and horse riders seemed to be making the most of the welcome break in recent stormy weather!

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Being out and about brings you into contact with all sorts of people enjoying and using the hills.

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Rangers have regular joint patrols of the hills with local Police Officers, working together to maintain a profile and to deal with issues as they arise.  On Tuesday evening I went out on patrol with PCSO Sue Marks who covers the West Somerset part of the AONB.

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Any school and public holidays tend to be a busy time for the Rangers … the hills can be extremely busy.

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Fun Guys:
It’s been a busy few days … filming with the BBC, out on weekend patrol with Volunteer and Foraging for Fungi!

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People may have seen the pretty comprehensive report of the deer rut from Andy … he’s currently in Scotland on leave, probably watching the deer rut!

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High pressure meant clear skies and wonderful visibility.  The trees are just beginning to turn and the hill was pretty busy with people taking advantage of the great weather. 

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