Stock Hill

Last updated

Stock Hill, Forestry Commission Stockhill.jpg
Stock Hill, Forestry Commission

Stock Hill (grid reference ST5551 ) is a Forestry Commission plantation on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England.

It lies to the south of the B3135 which runs from Cheddar Gorge to Green Ore and is the largest woodland on the Mendip plateau. A number of wide rides run through the forest. In addition parts of the woodland are clear-felled, and in these areas a number of plant species associated with heathlands and acidic soils are present.

It is notable as a site for scarce birds, and as a result is popular with birdwatchers. It is one of the main breeding sites in northern Somerset for nightjars. In addition, long-eared owl nests here annually.

An "easy-going trail" has been constructed to enable access for people with mobility issues. The trail starts opposite the entrance to the car park and is made up of level compacted gravel. It is dedicated to Ian McArdle of the Cheddar Valley Access Group. He was a disabled man who loved Stockhill Forest and the Priddy Mineries opposite and inspired the trails creation. [1]

Some of the trails form part of the national long distance footpath, the Monarch's Way.

Adjacent to the woodland on its western side (across a minor road) is Priddy Mineries, a nature reserve of the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheddar, Somerset</span> Human settlement in England

Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Wells, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Weston-super-Mare and 18 miles (29 km) south-west of Bristol. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross. The parish had a population of 5,755 in 2011 and an acreage of 8,592 acres (3,477 ha) as of 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mendip Hills</span> Range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Down, Somerset</span> One of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England

Black Down is the highest hill in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, in south-western England. Black Down lies just a few miles eastward of the Bristol Channel at Weston-super-Mare, and provides a view over the Chew Valley. The summit is marked with an Ordnance Survey trig point, the base of which has been rebuilt by the Mendip Hills AONB authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priddy</span> Human settlement in England

Priddy is a village in Somerset, England in the Mendip Hills, close to East Harptree and 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Wells. It is in the local government district of Mendip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill</span> Geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priddy Mineries</span> Nature reserve in Somerset, England

Priddy Mineries is a nature reserve previously run by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. It is in the village of Priddy, on the Mendip Hills in Somerset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheddar Complex</span> Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, England

The Cheddar Complex is a 441.3-hectare (1,090-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Cheddar around the Cheddar Gorge and north east to Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England, notified in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gough's Cave</span> Cave and archaeological site in the United Kingdom

Gough's Cave is located in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Cheddar, Somerset, England. The cave is 115 m (377 ft) deep and is 3.405 km (2.12 mi) long, and contains a variety of large chambers and rock formations. It contains the Cheddar Yeo, the largest underground river system in Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charterhouse, Somerset</span> Human settlement in England

Charterhouse, also known as Charterhouse-on-Mendip, is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Priddy, in the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The area between Charterhouse and Cheddar Gorge including Velvet Bottom and Ubley Warren is covered by the Cheddar Complex Site of Special Scientific Interest. In 1931 the parish had a population of 68.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastwater Cavern</span> Limestone cave in Somerset, England

Eastwater Cavern is a cave near Priddy in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It is also known as Eastwater Swallet. It was first excavated in April 1902 by a team led by Herbert E. Balch composed of paid labourers and volunteers from the Wells Natural History Society. Progress was initially slow, but by February 1903 Balch and Willcox had discovered substantial passage, following the streamway down to the bottom of the cave. Dolphin Pot was dug in 1940 by the Wessex Cave Club, with Primrose Pot following in 1950. West End series was the most recent significant discovery, in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GB Cave</span> Limestone cave in Somerset, England

GB Cave is a cave between Charterhouse and Shipham in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Cuthbert's Swallet</span> Cave in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England

St Cuthbert's Swallet is the second longest, and most complex, cave on the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It forms a major part of the Priddy Caves system and water entering this swallet re-emerges at Wookey Hole. St Cuthbert's Swallet is part of, and lies underneath, the Priddy Pools Site of Special Scientific Interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shatter Cave</span> Cave in Somerset, England

Shatter Cave is a cave in Fairy Cave Quarry, near Stoke St Michael in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It falls within the St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Site of Special Scientific Interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batts Combe quarry</span> Limestone quarry in Somerset, England

Batts Combe quarry, grid reference ST460550 is a limestone quarry on the edge of Cheddar village on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dulcote Quarry</span> Disused limestone quarry in Somerset, England

Dulcote Quarry is a disused limestone quarry at Dulcote, near Wells on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. The quarry measures around 600 metres (2,000 ft) from West to East and around 350 metres (1,150 ft) from North to South, with an area of 18 acres (7.3 ha), which is surrounded by 80 acres (32 ha) of woodland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balch Cave</span> Cave in Somerset, England

Balch Cave is a cave in Fairy Cave Quarry, near Stoke St Michael in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The cave is part of the complex of passages feeding to St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Site of Special Scientific Interest and an abandoned Bristol Water abstraction point.

The Mendip Way is an 80-kilometre (50 mi) long-distance footpath across the Mendip Hills from Weston-super-Mare to Frome. It is divided into two sections.

Hunter's Hole is a cave in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. It is behind a pub, known as the Hunters Lodge Inn just outside Priddy where visitors can park. It is accessed via a permanent ladder, about 100m behind the pub in a small dip between some trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smitham Chimney, East Harptree</span>

Smitham Chimney is a chimney which was used for lead mining just outside the village of East Harptree, in the parish of Priddy, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priddy Nine Barrows and Ashen Hill Barrow Cemeteries</span> Archaeological site in Somerset, United Kingdom

Priddy Nine Barrows Cemetery and Ashen Hill Barrow Cemetery are a collection of round barrows, dating from the Bronze Age, near Priddy in the English county of Somerset. They are designated as ancient monuments.

References

  1. "Autumn newsletter 2007" (PDF). Mendip Hills AONB. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2007.

51°15′23″N2°38′46″W / 51.25638°N 2.64623°W / 51.25638; -2.64623