Our walk starts in Holford. This small village, set in beautiful surroundings with a history of silk making, was home to William Wordsworth for a year. You pass the remains of the silk factory in Holford Glen. Bryan Adams fans may recognise it, if they’re familiar with the video to his hit song (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.
Heading up the valley, we crossed over the Holford stream and walked up through the trees and onto the open hillside, with the gorse and heather in bloom, to join the path running between the two lesser peaks of Lower Hare Knap and Higher Hare Knap.
Walking south, our goal was the summit of Black Hill which stands above the village of Crowcombe.
Standing at 358m, it is one of the highest peaks in the Quantocks and the views are fantastic. There’s certainly a reason why the Quantocks were the first to be given Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) status in England.
From there, we headed East past Wilmot’s Pool towards Dead Woman’s Ditch. This is an alternative parking spot for this walk, ignoring the Holford village section. Proceeding along the quiet Five Lords Lane, the trees here are quite striking, with many having grown in corkscrew fashion and looking dark and sombre. It somehow adds a sense of medieval mystery.
Moving onto a path once more, the route then begins to drop through Lady’s Combe to meet a small stream. It’s then a simple task of following the stream back to Holford. All this section is within the shade of trees at the bottom of the valley, criss-crossing over the small stream. It’s a delight with the sunlight filtering through the leaves and dancing off the surface of the water.
Joining again the path at Holford, we chose to stop at the Combe Hotel for a spot of lunch, which was very pleasant in the autumn sunshine. Another lunch option would be the Plough Inn in Holford itself, but we’d chosen a day when it was not open.
Total Length : 5.77 miles (9.23 km)
Total Ascent : 888 feet (271 m)
Difficulty Level : Moderate / Challenging
Estimated Time : 2 hrs 33 mins
Travel from The Old Quarry : 14.5 miles / 40 mins
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