top of page
Rachael Sealey Photography
Recent adventures
Ham Hill
Ham Hill is a stunning wildlife haven centred around an Iron Age hillfort and offers fantastic opportunities for scenic dog walks, walking, running, playing and wildlife watching with far reaching views across Somerset.
There are lots of birds, butterflies, flowers and fauna in the area. Its amazing and, also due to 170 million years in the making, offers fantastic views towards the Somerset Levels and across to the Mendips, Exmoor and beyond. I have spent, and perched on a rocky outcrop of hamstone, a lot of time sat at the Reserve watching buzzards hunting (also using the natural uplift of the winds on the edge of the reserve) - and the crows harrying at it for its lunch.
Having lived in the area for decades, I came to Ham Hill as a child (as did my siblings). My parents brought my nephews and niece to Ham Hill and I heard stories of them tobacconing down the slopes. It is certainly a good way to run off energy - for both children and our best four legged friends. That said, it is also a good spot to come and sit and think. Watching the sun come up - and burn through the mist, its magical. I have also walked through the stone circle and out to the cenotaph marking a spot of remembrance. I also understand that the name has origins in “the hill amongst the water meadows”. It is like a plateau with Somerset and Dorset spread out at its roots.
There are various things said about the stone circle - like Stonehenge and Avebury Stones - and there are lots of rumours. That said, there is a lot of positive energy whatever your spiritual or religious beliefs. Walking up to the cenotaph and sitting in this area, on a good day its a perfect vision. On the days where there’s a mist rising up from the Levels below and the walking from the car and watching the area coming to life it is beautiful, and almost magical. I cannot put into words how magical it looks.
Watching the TV series with Bill Bailey (C4 I think) and various male celebrities and male health issues - one included Ham Hill, Somerset Levels and other local amenities. It certainly shed more interest on the area. And it sparked something extra in me. I’ve then spent extra walking in the mists, in watching the sun come up, watch various light playing on the levels below depending on sun or rain and also the traffic travelling on the A303. And the birds. I love watching the buzzards, the crows and the magpies. Even at its busiest, its a peaceful place.
There’s always a downside and its probably “the kids” congregating in their droves, in cars, of an evening listening to music, socialising and watching the world go by. Its not a bad thing but for someone who has a form of crowd phobia, its not always particularly comfortable - and it doesn’t help that I’m over 50.
The geology of Ham Hill is around 170 million years old and unique. Classified as a Jurassic shelly limestone, this golden, honey coloured stone, is a sedimentary rock that was built up in layers. Warm, shallow seas once covered the area and small fragments of shell, sea creatures and calcium carbonate, were cemented together on the sea floor by pressure and time. This layer of rock is quite thin and sits on top of Yeovil sand - You are literally walking on the sea bed. Hamstone has been used to build some of the older houses including Sherborne Abbey and Montacute House. Earth mounds near the Ranger's Centre are old Victorian quarry spoil heaps. Romans were the first to quarry stone here in large quantities, and there are also signs of a deserted medieval village.
Dogs are welcome at Ham Hill and there are some lovely dog friendly walks right across the whole site - however, grassland areas are grazed periodically by cattle and sheep and also there is a fantastic population of skylarks, which are ground-nesting birds so dogs must be kept on leads at all these times.
Ham Hill Country Park, Ham Hill, Stoke sub Hamdon, Somerset, United Kingdom, TA14 6R
Photography
bottom of page