The Brendon Hills - are
a little known but quietly beautiful landscape in West Somerset.
Lying north of the Carboniferous rocks of central Devon, there is an
east-west belt of Devonian rocks which extends from the coast at
Ilfracombe and embraces Exmoor and the Brendon Hills, and occurs as
an inlier in the Quantock Hills. The Brendons are characterised by
rolling hills deeply dissected by wooded valleys. They rise to over 400
metres at Wiveliscombe Barrow, and to the west they merge into
Exmoor. The sandstones, mudstones, siltstones and slates are overlain
generally by fine loamy reddish soil, the land being used principally for
dairying and stock rearing. There are a number of mixed forest
plantations, particularly to the north of the area, and some of these
have open access. During the 19th century a number of small mining
settlements grew around local deposits of iron ore, and many buildings
and features from this industry remain.
The Brendon Hills blend into Exmoor, with their highest point at Lype Hill (1380 feet). Once the scene of busy mining operations, the Brendons are now a tranquil area of farming and forestry. The iron smelters of South Wales were fed with Brendon ore which was carried down the steep incline and along the Mineral Railway Line to Watchet. Now only a few signs of the industry remain, but many old photographs and documents can be seen at the Ralegh's Cross Inn and Watchet Museum.
Lying
mainly within Exmoor National
Park, between the Quantock Hills and
the high central moorland, they have a precious mixture of rolling agricultural
land with its deep red soil, woodland, beech hedges, wooded river valleys
and historic villages.
In the 19th century the area saw intensive mining
activity and many structures today bear silent witness to this industrial
past.
Brendon Hill Picnic July 1907
The hills are quite heavily cultivated unlike their neighbouring
upland areas of Exmoor and the Quantock
Hills. The hills merge level into the eastern side of Exmoor,
and they are included within the Exmoor
National Park.
The highest point on the hills is Lype Hill at 422
metres (1388 feet) above sea level.
Brendon Hill Picnic July 1907
The Stores Brendon Hill
Looking East (over a forest of newly plnated trees in shelter)s from Treborough Common across to the Quantock Hills
View from Treborough Common over to Croydon Hill
Here are remains of the once prosperous iron mining industry, including a miners' chapel at Beulah and ruins of mines, cottages and the steep mineral railway incline running down to Comberow. Car parking is at a lay-by near Raleigh's Cross (Raleghs Cross) and it is necessary to explore on foot. Access to Burrow Farm Engine House is from near the Naked Boy prehistoric standing stone along the edge of the track bed of the former West Somerset Mineral railway.
The Brendons in Taunton Deane are mainly characterised by exposed high ground roughly between 100 and 300 metres high, the highest point being Heydon Hill (342m).The higher areas are generally to the north and west with more gently sloping lower ground to the south.There are deeply dissected valleys flowing eastwards to the River Tone.The geology of the area is predominantly Devonian slates, siltstones and sandstones giving rise to fine loamy reddish soils.The remainder is made up of Carboniferous shales and limestone outcrops giving rise to slowly permeable, seasonally waterlogged fine loamy and fine silty soils. The land is mainly of low agricultural value and is used principally for dairying, although there is cereal and stock rearing in the uplands. On the steep slopes there are coniferous and deciduous woodlands and rough grazing.
OS Grid Reference: ST0234
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