"Ascending the hill whose warm-coloured limestone forms the towns and villages of Somerset."
Walk directions
Turn right out of the car park (so that the big, westward view is on the right) to a road junction. Keep left, passing road junction on right, for 80yds (73m) then take a path on the right, signed 'Norton sub Hamdon'. This leads through woods around the side of Ham Hill, keeping at the same level, around the rim and then just below it, all the way round. When open field appears ahead, the path turns right, downhill.
Ignore a first gate on the left but go down through a second. Descend grassland into a small valley with the hummocks of the medieval village of Witcombe. Head left up the valley floor, passing to the left of a willow clump. Continue straight on the track leading up the valley to hit the wall opposite Batemoor Barn. Head right beside the wall to the gate onto the lane, which emerges opposite Hollow Lane.
Cross the road and head through the gate to the right of Hollow Lane, then pick up the narrow path on the left which lets you pass along the field-edges, then into a wood. Just inside the wood, turn right up steps. A clear path runs just below the top of the wood, then down to the edge of Montacute village. Turn left to pass the entrance to Montacute House, to reach the King's Arms pub.
Turn left, past the church; after a duck pond turn right on a permissive path. A kissing gate leads to the base of St Michael's Hill. Turn left for 150yds (137m) to a stile into the woods.
The path ahead is arduous. For a gentler way up the hill, turn left around its base to the gateway and stile at the foot of the descending track. Otherwise cross the stile to a very steep path, to the summit tower. The tower is open and its spiral staircase is well worth the climb. Descend the winding main track to the gateway and stile at the hill's foot.
Turn half-right and go straight down the field to a gate at its bottom corner. This leads on to a track corner. Turn left and follow the track round the field corner. After 90yds (82m) take a right fork. The earth track runs close to the foot of the woods, passing the ruins of a pump house, and diminishing to a path; it then climbs steps to join a higher one. Turn right to continue close to the foot of the woods until the path emerges at a gate after 500yds (457m). Steps lead up to the Prince of Wales pub. Turn left along its lane, through the hummocks of former quarries, to the car park.
The yellow limestone, known as Hamstone, found on Ham Hill and nearby Chiseldon is of a local and special sort. Most limestone is formed of sea shells underwater, but Ham Hill was once a wave-battered, shingly bank. These well-broken shell fragments were cemented together, and stained yellow by a... seepage of iron oxide, or common rust. Consequently, the Ham Hill limestone doesn't have intact fossils. More importantly, it doesn't have the crumbliness of most limestones, or the tendency to split apart into layers. It's what is called 'freestone' – it can be worked smooth and carved in any direction. Shaping Hamstone is like cutting cheese rather than flaky pastry. Romans in the stone Traces of early quarrying naturally get dug up and carried away by later quarrying. However, we do know that the Romans quarried here: a Roman coffin made of Ham Hill stone is in the museum at Dorchester. It was much later, in the Middle Ages, that the quarries became the making of Somerset - literally. The more important buildings – Montacute House at the foot of the hill, but also Sherborne Abbey, Wells Cathedral and many manor houses – were built of Hamstone throughout. Shop local Because of the cost of hauling the stones, in the days before real roads, buildings such as parish churches used the local stone for masonry but Hamstone for the corners and the tricky bits round the windows. The Yeo and the Parrett provided river transport, and Hamstone could be floated up the Tone to Taunton and Wellington. All over Somerset it's a golden thread running through the richly varied building fabric. Another quality of Hamstone is apparent at Bath, where they had their own sort of freestone and didn't need to use it. The Bathstone, an oolitic limestone, is crumbling in today's polluted atmosphere. The Hamstone, a sort of natural concrete, is more robust. The quarries were worked by hand, using wedges and a type of pick called a 'jadd'. The tremendous labour of lifting the rough shaped blocks out of the quarries was a spur to ingenuity and mechanical contrivance. Steam-powered cranes came to Ham Hill in the 18th century but, even so, the work was dangerous, with quarrymen injured or crushed to death every year. Back to the future Today two of the quarries have re-opened. They are being worked in the traditional way, with wedges and hand tools. The fork-lift truck provides a safer alternative to the block-and-tackle or steam crane. The stone goes for restoration work and also for new building. Cheap transport in the 20th century meant stone for a fancy façade could come from Spain or even China, but today planners are realising that the local stone is crucial to Somerset's character and charm.
Somerset remains rural and unspoiled, and ever popular areas to visit are the limestone and red sandstone Mendip Hills rising to over 1,000 feet, and by complete contrast, to the south and southwest, the flat landscape of the Somerset Levels. Another popular spot, the Quantocks, once the haunt of poets Coleridge and Wordsworth, are noted for their gentle slopes, heather-covered moorland expanses and red deer.
"Ascending the hill whose warm-coloured limestone forms the towns and villages of Somerset."
Walk details
2hrs
Difficulty:
Medium
Gradient:
Challenging
Distance:
4 miles (6.4kms)
Ascent:
700ft (213m)
Walk directions
Turn right out of the car park (so that the big, westward view is on the right) to a road junction. Keep left, passing road junction on right, for 80yds (73m) then take a path on the right, signed 'Norton sub Hamdon'. This leads through woods around the side of Ham Hill, keeping at the same level, around the rim and then just below it, all the way round. When open field appears ahead, the path turns right, downhill.
1 of 6
Ignore a first gate on the left but go down through a second. Descend grassland into a small valley with the hummocks of the medieval village of Witcombe. Head left up the valley floor, passing to the left of a willow clump. Continue straight on the track leading up the valley to hit the wall opposite Batemoor Barn. Head right beside the wall to the gate onto the lane, which emerges opposite Hollow Lane.
2 of 6
Cross the road and head through the gate to the right of Hollow Lane, then pick up the narrow path on the left which lets you pass along the field-edges, then into a wood. Just inside the wood, turn right up steps. A clear path runs just below the top of the wood, then down to the edge of Montacute village. Turn left to pass the entrance to Montacute House, to reach the King's Arms pub.
3 of 6
Turn left, past the church; after a duck pond turn right on a permissive path. A kissing gate leads to the base of St Michael's Hill. Turn left for 150yds (137m) to a stile into the woods.
4 of 6
The path ahead is arduous. For a gentler way up the hill, turn left around its base to the gateway and stile at the foot of the descending track. Otherwise cross the stile to a very steep path, to the summit tower. The tower is open and its spiral staircase is well worth the climb. Descend the winding main track to the gateway and stile at the hill's foot.
5 of 6
Turn half-right and go straight down the field to a gate at its bottom corner. This leads on to a track corner. Turn left and follow the track round the field corner. After 90yds (82m) take a right fork. The earth track runs close to the foot of the woods, passing the ruins of a pump house, and diminishing to a path; it then climbs steps to join a higher one. Turn right to continue close to the foot of the woods until the path emerges at a gate after 500yds (457m). Steps lead up to the Prince of Wales pub. Turn left along its lane, through the hummocks of former quarries, to the car park.
The yellow limestone, known as Hamstone, found on Ham Hill and nearby Chiseldon is of a local and special sort. Most limestone is formed of sea shells underwater, but Ham Hill was once a wave-battered, shingly bank. These well-broken shell fragments were cemented together, and stained yellow by a... seepage of iron oxide, or common rust. Consequently, the Ham Hill limestone doesn't have intact fossils. More importantly, it doesn't have the crumbliness of most limestones, or the tendency to split apart into layers. It's what is called 'freestone' – it can be worked smooth and carved in any direction. Shaping Hamstone is like cutting cheese rather than flaky pastry. Romans in the stone Traces of early quarrying naturally get dug up and carried away by later quarrying. However, we do know that the Romans quarried here: a Roman coffin made of Ham Hill stone is in the museum at Dorchester. It was much later, in the Middle Ages, that the quarries became the making of Somerset - literally. The more important buildings – Montacute House at the foot of the hill, but also Sherborne Abbey, Wells Cathedral and many manor houses – were built of Hamstone throughout. Shop local Because of the cost of hauling the stones, in the days before real roads, buildings such as parish churches used the local stone for masonry but Hamstone for the corners and the tricky bits round the windows. The Yeo and the Parrett provided river transport, and Hamstone could be floated up the Tone to Taunton and Wellington. All over Somerset it's a golden thread running through the richly varied building fabric. Another quality of Hamstone is apparent at Bath, where they had their own sort of freestone and didn't need to use it. The Bathstone, an oolitic limestone, is crumbling in today's polluted atmosphere. The Hamstone, a sort of natural concrete, is more robust. The quarries were worked by hand, using wedges and a type of pick called a 'jadd'. The tremendous labour of lifting the rough shaped blocks out of the quarries was a spur to ingenuity and mechanical contrivance. Steam-powered cranes came to Ham Hill in the 18th century but, even so, the work was dangerous, with quarrymen injured or crushed to death every year. Back to the future Today two of the quarries have re-opened. They are being worked in the traditional way, with wedges and hand tools. The fork-lift truck provides a safer alternative to the block-and-tackle or steam crane. The stone goes for restoration work and also for new building. Cheap transport in the 20th century meant stone for a fancy façade could come from Spain or even China, but today planners are realising that the local stone is crucial to Somerset's character and charm.
Somerset remains rural and unspoiled, and ever popular areas to visit are the limestone and red sandstone Mendip Hills rising to over 1,000 feet, and by complete contrast, to the south and southwest, the flat landscape of the Somerset Levels. Another popular spot, the Quantocks, once the haunt of poets Coleridge and Wordsworth, are noted for their gentle slopes, heather-covered moorland expanses and red deer.
