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), though lifts can be arranged from and back to Crewkerne railway station.


We meet in the car park in the centre of the village at 10:30am. Our walk, which involves a few climbs, 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 climb up onto Ham Hill for great views across the Somerset countryside; a new information centre explains the history of the locality.

There is then a woodland walk, and an optional climb up St. Michael’s Hill, another viewpoint, topped by an 18th century tower. Descending into Montacute, you’ll have time, if you wish, to visit the stunning parish church, or otherwise just enjoy one of England’s classic villages. Its most famous structure is undoubtedly Montacute House, generally regarded as the finest Elizabethan mansion in the South-West. We get an excellent view of the exterior just by taking a public footpath into the park at the rear.

Leaving Montacute, we follow a sunken, wooded lane and emerge at the site of a long-lost medieval village. Another walk, and a bit of a climb, and we are in Chiselborough, the third of our villages, and a little different in feel from the others. From here, it’s a short, flat walk through an orchard into Norton-sub-Hamdon, a village which, while less well-known than Montacute, is full of charm. The church is worth a visit.
Finally, there’s just one more flat walk back to Stoke.

Estimated total distance: 7-8 miles.
NB. We walk through several fields with long grass and livestock, so awareness of ticks is advised. Also, please remember to be sun-smart if it’s hot, and bring plenty to drink!

A packed lunch is suggested, though there are pubs en route, and the group may wish to finish at one of these in Stoke, or possibly a little earlier in Norton.

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. Allow 1.5 hours from Exeter.