Saturday Walk: The Golden Villages of Somerset

Join us for a beautiful walk through rural Somerset and its golden villages. This is a circular walk starting and finishing in the village of Stoke-sub-Hamdon. Realistically, you need access to a car to get there (see below).

We meet in the car park in the centre of the village at 10:30am. Our walk, which only involves one noticeable climb, takes in four villages built largely from the golden hamstone, quarried from Ham Hill, roughly in the centre of all of them.

Stoke-sub-Hamdon is itself quite attractive, and includes the Priory owned by the National Trust. From there, we set off to Norton-sub-Hamdon, a little smaller, but with the same general feel. Onwards from there, we come to Chiselborough, a very pleasant spot for a break. Next, we make our way to the last of the four villages, and perhaps the best known, Montacute. This is home to Montacute House, generally regarded as the finest Elizabethan mansion in the South-West. There is an entrance fee if you wish to visit, but we’ll get an excellent view of the exterior just by taking a public footpath into the park at the rear.

Our route back takes up St. Michael’s Hill, topped by an 18th century folly. From there, we carry on to Ham Hill, once a quarry, now a country park offering great views across the Somerset countryside. Finally, it’s just a short descent back into Stoke with the option to visit one of the nice pubs as we finish.

Estimated total distance: 6 miles.
All of the villages visited have imposing churches – most at least also have pubs.

Lunch is a choice between bringing a packed lunch and a pub lunch (the Cat Head Inn in Chiselborough: https://www.thecathead.co.uk/).

To drive to Stoke: take the A30 past Honiton, which after a further few miles turns into the A303. Take the turning off towards Crewkerne (A356). Take the first left towards Stoke not long after you’ve gone under the A303. After about a mile, you’ll be in the centre of the village. Turn right towards the signposted free car park and park there – just after you turn off here, it’s on the right. Allow 1.5 hours from Exeter.