The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Chew Valley and other tributaries of the Avon to the north. The highest point, at 325 metres above sea level, is Beacon Batch which is the summit area atop Black Down. The hills gave their name to the former local government district of Mendip, which administered most of the local area until April 2023. The higher, western part of the hills, covering 198 km2 (76 sq mi) has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which gives it a level of protection comparable to a national park.
The Polden Hills in Somerset, England are a long, low ridge, extending for 10 miles (16 km), and separated from the Mendip Hills, to which they are nearly parallel, by a marshy tract, known as the Somerset Levels. They are now bisected at their western end by the M5 motorway and a railway, the Bristol and Exeter Railway, part of the Great Western Main Line.
Ebbor Gorge is a limestone gorge in Somerset, England, designated and notified in 1952 as a 63.5-hectare (157-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Mendip Hills. It was donated to the National Trust in 1967 and is now managed by Natural England as a national nature reserve.
Ashwick is a village in Somerset, England, about three miles north of Shepton Mallet and seven miles east from Wells. It has also been a civil parish since 1826. The parish had a population of 1,352 according to the 2011 census, and apart from Ashwick village also includes Gurney Slade and Oakhill.
Barns Batch Spinney is a 0.06-hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Dundry, North Somerset, notified in 1987.
Wurt Pit and Devil's Punchbowl is a 0.2 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between East Harptree and the Priddy Circles in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1987.
Emborough Quarries is a 1 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Emborough in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1971.
Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill is a 332.2 hectare (820.9 acre) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the western end of the Mendip Hills, Somerset. The line of hills runs for approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from west to east and includes: Crook Peak, Compton Hill, Wavering Down, Cross Plain and Shute Shelve Hill. Most of the site is owned by the National Trust, which bought 725 acres (293 ha) in 1985, and much of it has been designated as common land. It was notified as an SSSI by Natural England in 1952.
Hobbs Quarry is a 0.5 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Shepton Mallet on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, notified in 1984.
Cloford Quarry is a 39.92-hectare (98.6-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest to the south of the A361 approximately 350 metres (1,150 ft) north of the hamlet of Cloford and 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) west of Nunney on the Mendip Hills in Somerset. It was notified in 1994.
Godminster Lane Quarry and Railway Cutting is a 0.8 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Pitcombe in Somerset, notified in 1971.
Leighton Road Cutting is a 0.6 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between East Cranmore and Cloford in Somerset, notified in 1984. It is a Geological Conservation Review site
Sandpit Hole and Bishop's Lot is a 1.8 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Ebbor Gorge in Somerset, notified in 1987.
Maesbury Castle is an Iron Age hill fort within the parish of Croscombe on the Mendip Hills, just north of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England. It has been listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Wanstrow is a village and civil parish 6 miles (9.7 km) south west of Frome in Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Cloford.
Masbury railway station was a small isolated station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway's main line between Evercreech Junction and Bath. It was situated to the north of Shepton Mallet and near the summit of the line as it crossed the Mendip Hills. The station opened in 1874 and closed with the rest of the line under the Beeching Axe in March 1966.
Horrington is a collection of three small villages in the parish of St Cuthbert Out 1 mile (2 km) or 2 miles (3 km) east of Wells, Somerset, England.
Writhlington is a suburb of Radstock and 6 miles (10 km) north-west of Frome in the Bath and North East Somerset district of Somerset, England.
The West Somerset Coast Path is a long-distance footpath that links the northern end of the South West Coast Path to the River Parrett Trail in Somerset, England, UK.
The county of Somerset is in South West England, bordered by the Bristol Channel and the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, and Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south, and Devon to the west. The climate, influenced by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the prevailing westerly winds, tends to be mild, damp and windy.
