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< Back to all information leaflets Highway heritage project Download document [pdf] Detailing the very successful LHI project which renovated most of the traditional road signs in the Quantock Hills. Click on the button above to download a copy of this document. If you require a different format, please email quantockhills@somerset.gov.uk or call 01823 451884. < Previous Next >

< Back to Completed Projects (all) The Quantock Education (QEd) project was a three year project run by the Quantock Hills Team that raised the awareness of the special characteristics of the Quantock Hills, built on the work with schools alreading occuring and developed relevant teaching activities and resources. The Team has a long tradition of working with schools and other groups to promote environmental education so the project built on this solid foundation, backed up by a wealth of detailed knowledge and expertise about the Quantock Hills. View the educational resource packs ... Quantock Education (QEd) A three year project that raised awareness of the special characteristics of the Quantock Hills in an education setting. Start date: 1 April 2002 End date: 31 March 2005 Funding: Natural England Partners: South West Heritage Trust, Bishops Lydeard Primary School < Previous Next >

< Back to Current Projects (all) Farming in Protected Landscapes programme Funding for land managers to enhance nature, climate, access and place. Start date: 1 Sept 2021 End date: ​ Funding: £743,930 Partners: Defra More info: www.quantockhills.com/farming-in-protected-landscapes Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) is designed to help farmers and landowners within each of the 44 protected landscapes in England, both National Parks and National Landscapes, to deliver projects that support nature recovery, climate change mitigation, improve landscape character and give people more opportunities to access and understand the landscape. Applications are invited covering four themes, Nature, Climate, People and Place, and can target all themes or just one. FiPL information and how to apply < Previous Next >

< Back to Places to visit Ramscombe (Great Wood) Explore this 600 hectare woodland, a mix of magnificant conifers and ancient oak woods. More info: https://www.forestryengland.uk/great-wood ​ Best time to visit ​ Look out for ​ Getting there What3Words: Nearest postcode: Google Maps link: ​ ​ Address: ​ Facilities nearby Toilets, accessible toilet on site. Cafe at entrance to Great Wood (not Forestry England). Transport and parking A number of parking locations within Great Wood. Charges apply. Accessibility There is level access from the main car park to Ramscombe Picnic Table and from the Event Room car park to accessible toilet. Forest roads and tracks uneven terrain with some slopes. Great Wood is owned and managed by Forestry England. It is over 600 hectares in size and mixes commercial conifer woodland with broadleaf and open areas providing a mix of habitats ideal for wildlife. There are a number of car parks from which to explore the woods using the great network of bridleways or forest road either on foot, on horse or by bike. In Ramscombe there is family picnic area with wheelchair access, plenty of picnic tables and also dedicated surfaces for BBQs. From here the 2 mile Red Route is great to view the majestic Douglas Firs that tower above the surrounding woodland. < Previous Next >

< Back to Places to visit Hestercombe House & Gardens With three centuries of garden design built on a diverse history of an estate dating back to an Anglo-Saxon charter of 682 Hestercombe is a fascinating venue to visit again and again. More info: https://www.hestercombe.com/ ​ Best time to visit The gardens are great to visit throughout the year, however visiting in spring and summer the gardens are a riot of colour, scents and alive with the buzz of bees and butterflies. The Gardens Trust has a great programme of events so it is always worth checking their website to see what is on Look out for With 20 hectares of formal gardens to explore there is plenty to see at Hestercombe. It is also home to lots of wildlife from Roe Deer bounding through the wooded gardens, to bats roosting in the house and buildings and lizards basking in the sunshine oon the gardens walls. Getting there What3Words: Nearest postcode: Google Maps link: overnight.supper.match TA2 8LG https://maps.app.goo.gl/FWHUP58TvDnFmFLn8 Address: ​ Facilities nearby Toilets including a wheechair accessible toilet and cafe on site Transport and parking A large car park including coach parking avaliable on site Accessibility Accessible routes / Accessible toilet with baby-changing facilities in the stable courtyard. Designated parking / drop-off point / level access to gift shop, secondhand book shop in Hestercombe House, the Stables Cafe and Plant Centre / powered mobility vehicle avaliable / steps / uneven terrain in wider gardens With a long history, including a stone archway dating from about 1280, Hestercombe is a fasinating place to explore. The current house dates from about 1680 with a major refit during 1725 and 1730 when most of the remaining medieval part of the house was taken down and replaced with the Georgain facade that survives today. However the jewel in HEstercombes crown are the recently restored formal gardens. These was designed by Edwin Lutyens with the planting scheme by Gertrude Jekyll in 1904 though were largley abandoned in the 1950s and only brought back to life with the creation of the Hestercombe Gardens Trust iin 1996. The Trust aquired the house in 2013 and now manages the site as a visitor attraction and venue. < Previous Next >

< Back to Annual Reports (all) Annual Report 2016-2017 Download document [pdf] Click on the button above to download a copy of this document. If you require a different format, please email quantockhills@somerset.gov.uk or call 01823 451884. < Previous Next >

< Back to educational resources (all documents) Hills and Viewpoints education pack Download document [pdf] Exploring the very top of the Quantock Hills, this pack provides activities for Geography and Art at KS2. Click on the button above to download a copy of this document. If you require a different format, please email quantockhills@somerset.gov.uk or call 01823 451884. < Previous Next >

< Back to Current Projects (all) Quantock Views A wonderful resource, Quantock Views is an archive of historic photographs and images of the Quantock Hills. Start date: 1 Jan 2014 End date: ​ Funding: £22,000 Partners: Quantock Hills National Landscape Team More info: https://www.quantockviews.uk/intro Quantock Views is a volunteer led project which was the brilliant idea of Keith Edwards a long standing volunteer who recognised the important value of historic photographs and postcards. The landscape of the Quantock Hills has been recognised for its scenic beauty since the time of Coleridge and Wordsworth and in the late 19th century the advent of photography opened up the opportunity for capturing the wonderful views and communities of the Quantock Hills. The project aims to collect high resolution scans of photographs, postcards and images of and from the Quantock Hills to ensure that these historic records are not lost. As well as collating these images the project has a website allowing anyone to view them opening up the heritage of the Quantock Hills to a wider community. < Previous Next >

< Back to all walks Walking with Wheels - Ramscombe, Black Hill and Dowsborough [CATEGORY 3 RED] A Disabled Ramblers Route - From the woodland of Ramscombe to the summit at Black Hill and back via the Iron Age hillfort of Dowsborough this route passes through some of the best the Quantock Hills has to offer. Download walk ​ Walk info Distance Nearest postcode: 10.8km (6.5miles) 3 hours Look out for Majestic Douglas Fir trees towering over Ramscombe, Red and Roe Deer fliting through the trees, buzzards and skylarks soaring over the heathland there is plenty of wildlife on this route. The route also explores the wonderful historic heritage of the Quantock Hills with many cairns and barrows passed on the route before reaching Dowsborough, an Iron age hillfort. Location Start location Nearest postcode: What3Words: http://What3Words ///obviously.solved.really ​ ​ Facilities nearby Toilets, accessible toilet on site. Cafe at entrance to Great Wood (not Forestry England). Transport and parking There are three car parks in Great Wood, charges apply. Accessibility A Disabled Ramblers Route - Developed by the Disabled Ramblers this route starts in the majestic Great Wood, with towering Douglas Fir Trees before climbing to the open heathland summits where it explores the historic heritage of the Quantock Hills passing a number of cairns and barrows before reaching the highest point on the route, Dowsborough, an impressive Iron Age Hillfort. < Previous Next >

< Back Pied flycatchers A rare summer visitor to the Quantock Hills temperate rainforests. Pied flycatchers migrate from central Africa to the woodlands of the Quantock Hills in summer. These small birds are quick, skilled, aerial hunters , feeding on flying insects. They also pluck caterpillars and other invertebrates from leaves and twigs. The males are black with bright white bellies, throats and wing patches. The females have a similar pattern but are a much duller brown. Pied flycatchers have been monitored on the Quantock Hills for over 40 years. Numbers nationally have declined signficantly. However, the population on the Quantock Hills has remained stable. Monitoring involves weekly visits to over 90 nest boxes. At the right time of the season, birds will have a small ring put on their leg, allowing researchers to chart whether they return to the Quantock Hills in later years. Volunteers and staff have to be trained and licensed to monitor pied flycatchers. < Previous Next >

< Back to Consultation and planning documents (all) Deer Management Strategy Response August 2022 Download document [pdf] Click on the button above to download a copy of this document. If you require a different format, please email quantockhills@somerset.gov.uk or call 01823 451884. < Previous Next >

< Back to Joint Advisory Committee papers (all) Joint Advisory Committee papers January 2022 Download document [pdf] Click on the button above to download a copy of this document. If you require a different format, please email quantockhills@somerset.gov.uk or call 01823 451884. < Previous Next >