Blackmore Vale & Camelot Country
Templecombe takes its name from the Knights Templar who founded a preceptory and chapel here in 12C. The church of St Mary at Abbas has a medieval portrait of Christ which closely resembles the face on the Turin Shroud. Nearby the hamlets of Brewham, Border and Hardway are situated in a well-wooded river valley, with Kingsettle Hill and the one hundred and sixty four foot Alfred’s Tower, the starting point of the Leland Trail.
Henstridge is where Sir Walter Raleigh reputedly first smoked tobacco at the Virginia Ash Inn. Marston Magna has a church containing traces of Saxon herringbone work and a Norman font. Milborne Port once one of the most important towns in Somerset, with its own mint. Attractive old buildings include the market hall, Guildhall, church and fives wall. The nearby villages of Stowell and Charlton Horethorne nestle in the undulating countryside.
North Cadbury is an attractive village containing many stone-built cottages, the handsome Elizabethan Cadbury Court, and a fine collegiate church built in 1470 with splendid bench-end carvings dating from 1538. South Cadbury is a small village at the foot of Cadbury Castle, the iron age hillfort which is reputedly King Arthur’s Camelot where, it is said, ‘on midsummer’s eve the hill turns clear as glass and inside can be seen Arthur and his knights of the round table’. Close to Cadbury are the delightful little villages of Sutton Montis, Compton Pauncefoot, and Blackford, all with historic churches.
Pen Selwood is a well-wooded parish bordering Dorset and Wiltshire, with lanes and paths leading to the Stourhead estate. Queen Camel has buildings of Blue Lias and thatch lining the main street. The church has a lofty tower containing the heaviest peal of six bells in the world. At nearby West Camel the cruciform church dates mostly from 15C and contains a Norman font.
Wincanton, whilst being industrial, is an interesting hillside market town and a centre for antiques. Elegant Georgian houses and coaching inns are reminders of its former importance as a staging post on the main London to Plymouth road. The Wincanton Races are very popular as are the events held during non race days. The unique Wincanton Museum exhibits artefacts & tells the story of the town & South Somerset. There is a swimming pool at the sports centre and it is a short drive to Moldrams Ground Nature Reserve. Drive through nearby Bayford and Stoke Trister to Cucklington for panoramic views.
Cheddar Gorge 68
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