Dokument tem jest na yczenie udost 01935 823617, [email protected] orvisit Ham HillCountryPark pleasecontacttheHamHillOffice on For more information orifyouhaveanyqueriesabout free visitwww.southsomerset.gov.uk/countrysideevents email [email protected] ortodownloadtheeventsguidefor Council’s Countryside Eventsleafletannually, pleasecontact 01935 823617, If youwouldliketojointhemailing listtoreceive SouthSomerset District www.visitsouthsomerset.com/hamhill of theRangers byworkingtoconserve,improve, andcelebrate HamHillCountryPark. EveryyeartheFriends Ham HillCountryPark hasawellestablishedandextremely valuable ‘Friends’group thatsupportthework The FriendsofHamHill all theletters inthecorrect order. bearings, pacingout agivendistance andfinding adventurous! This involvesusing acompasstotake the otherlocatedinWitcombeValley forthe more one locatedinthestonecircle forbeginners, and Compass trails-There are twocompass trails, and recording the numbers written on them. a special mapwithakeytofindlots ofmarkers permanent orienteeringcourse –this involvesusing Orienteering -HamHillCountryPark hasa Activities allyearround se didpanÍen portugîs,a pedido. Este documento encontra – pniany wjzyka polskim. 01935 01935 If you needthisinformation inlarge print,Braille, audioor another language,please contact 01935 462228 signsfrom thevillageofStokesubHamdon. Stoke subHamdonandNortonlieatthefootofhill. There are brown assist theRangerteaminorganising andrunning events.Theyalsohelptoraise funds for theCountryPark, whichfundvariousthingssuchaspartfundingacasual and amonumentisclearlyvisiblefrom the A303. ThevillagesofMontacute, [email protected] seasonal ranger postandbuyingequipment foreducationalactivitiessuch

Ham HillCountryPark issituatedapproximately 6mileswestofYeovil, How togetHamHillCountryPark: as bughuntingnetsandtrays, andtoolsfor therangers. or email

823617 Volunteers manage Ham Hill To effectively we need the valuable assistance and support of practical to help with a conservation volunteers variety of tasks. No formal qualifications or experience some enthusiasm, are needed; all that is required are and a willingness to old clothes, a sense of humour, help conserve your local wildlife and heritage. If conservation work isn’t for you, why not help practical activities, school visits and maybe us lead children’s even help out with wildlife surveying or in the busy Ham Hill office! involved either in getting more interested If you are by volunteering or by joining the Friends of Ham Hill Office on please contact the Ranger’s group, Please use the same contact details if you would like a to receive copy of our Countryside Events guide for the year, would like to join the Look Out or would like Club, led talk/ a ranger walk/activity session for your school or community group. Learning & Discovery for All for Discovery & Learning to downloadalloftheaboveactivities: Visit therecreation pageontheHamHillwebsite information panels. given toyou,byinvestigating,orreading Hill. Findouttheanswers withcluesthatare the wildlife,history, geologyandrangers ofHam various locations, andanswer questions about Quiz –Use amapoftheCountryPark tofind www.visitsouthsomerset.com/hamhill (1850 onwards) Ham Hill’s Ham Hill’s (1850 onwards) Victorian times In quarries developed – getting deeper as technology and quarrying methods progressed. Rangers is managed by a small ranger Ham Hill Country Park With so of volunteers. team and a dedicated group and habitats within many important historical features a detailed management plan has been the Country Park, written for the site. As a team we need to make sure archaeology and conserve the geology, that we protect and ecology of Ham Hill, whilst also managing the it attracts. of visitors for the huge range Country Park ranger team go to about the find out more To www.visitsouthsomerset.com/hamhill Design: Education and events study diverse at Ham Hill offers The environment opportunities that easily link into the National the From Curriculum and your school/college project. Age to Victorians (via the Romans!), and wildlife & Iron and geology - we can offer habitat studies to erosion hands on opportunities for your students from outdoor, to sixth form. For higher level students we pre-school such as management of resources can offer a range plans, visitor surveys and artefacts to enable you to projects. complete independent research run a rangers Country Park The Ham Hill and aged 8-12 once junior “Look Out Club” for children which is a morning every two months on a Saturday, The activities are of fun activities just for children. in wildlife, history an interest designed to promote outdoors. and the great formal and informal learning can provide We of all descriptions; from opportunities for all groups and out of school clubs to & toddler groups parent societies and with disabilities, special interest groups of a range are team building days. There also corporate ways in which everybody can learn and discover more about the fascinating history and wildlife of Ham Hill, either in your own venue or at Ham Hill. Ham HillCountry Park A quickguideto wildlife and geology exciting history, Ham Hill’s Discover Roman coins dating from throughout throughout from A guidetoHamHillCountry Park the occupation have the Warren. the Warren. (12th – 16th century) been found at Ham Hill. Ham Hill around 55AD, Ham Hill around the war memorial and a 19 roomed the war memorial and a 19 roomed hamstone in the field known as medieval times focused on two sites; a military base out near The most significant discovery of coins was of 3 Romans invaded there was a village in an area just outside the was a village in an area there used to farm the The villagers called Witcombe Valley. near to slopes, and every year they used to have a fayre the war memorial now stands. where As well as farming, quarrying was one of the key activities that took place on Ham Hill in the medieval Hamstone from made from Many buildings were era. 1400 - 1530, especially from to 16th century, the 10th building age. the great The their occupation has left behind remains such as their occupation has left behind remains Masses of tiles and pottery. roof coins, brooches, to evidence has been found relating archaeological the Roman occupation of Ham Hill. The settlements full jars of over 2000 coins, which were found in 1882. of over 2000 coins, which were full jars Later on, in called

Learning & Discovery for All and ditches that ron Age hillfort Iron Introduction Offering superb views across the countryside, Ham Hill has something countryside, the Somerset across Offering superb views for everyone. Large wildflower meadows, peaceful mature woodlands, steeply woodlands, peaceful mature wildflower meadows, for everyone. Large sloping Iron Age ramparts, and a deserted medieval village all offer fantastic Age ramparts, Iron sloping opportunities to explore this unique piece of Somerset countryside. There is an is There countryside. unique piece of Somerset this opportunities to explore Victorian quarrying on the hill, which exciting landscape of hilly mounds left from makes Ham Hill such an interesting place to come and explore makes Ham Hill such an interesting follow the natural contours of the land. The ramparts of the land. The ramparts contours follow the natural of approx almost 5km long, and enclose an area are people football pitches!) where (about 100 200 acres digs Age. Archaeological used to live during the Iron geophysical surveys have in the early 1900s and recent some evidence for at least two concentrated produced of occupation on Ham Hill. Roundhouses, areas and field systems divided up the hillfort’s trackways plateau. The hillfort was a busy settlement, with its for goods inhabitants farming the land and trading and weapons.

Hamdon Hill, the largest of its kind in Great Britain, of its kind in Great Hamdon Hill, the largest the Built between 600BC to 100BC, possibly in Europe! man-made slopes are earthwork defences (ramparts) History Ham Hill forms part of the Learning & Discovery for All

Ham Hill Geology Ham Hill wildlife

Ham Hill Country Park is one of Ham Hill is home to a range of wildlife, majority of the Country Park support a rare type of There are some the most important geological from large creatures such as deer, grassland (called calcareous grassland). The colours wonderful locations in Somerset. The 1 badgers and foxes, birds of many change throughout the summer as the yellows, woodlands to warm golden Hamstone, a different shapes and sizes, purples and whites of the wildflowers bloom and explore within Jurassic shelley limestone, has right down to butterflies, fade. Butterflies and other insects are frequently seen the Country Park. many special features and is one bees, spiders and ants! The on warmer, calmer days in this habitat, also attracted In early spring, the of the reasons for Ham Hill’s exciting 3 nutrient poor, alkaline to the buddleia shrubs that grow on this more woodland floors are a sea past and it’s current habitats. Hamstone is a limestone 2 soils found across the disturbed ground. of yellow when the lesser celandines are composed of crushed up fragments of shells and other the first flowers to emerge, closely folllowed sea creatures. The fossils found in the rock include In the summer the traditionally managed hay by primroses, violets and then in April a carpet ammonites, which date the stone to 170 million years meadows are alive with wildlife. Buttercups, of bluebells. ago - the Jurassic period. Hamstone is golden in colour, vetches, orchids, cranesbill and many because of iron compounds present in the rock. Look out attractive grasses create a wonderful scene, Horses Wood is frequented by Greater Spotted for beautiful crystals formed naturally in the cracks. Visit whilst hundreds of insects buzz around woodpeckers due to the amount of dead trees left the stone circle to see if you can find any fossils and them. The tall grasses and flowers of this standing. This wood is situated in the wide, open crystals, but please leave area known as Witcombe Valley, which is grazed them where they are for habitat provide ideal areas for ground during the summer months to maintain a tussocky other people to see. nesting birds, and there is a good population of skylarks in grassland habitat where buzzards can be seen by There is access to several these meadows. day, and owls by night. This grassland is also home old quarry faces, which 7 to many green woodpeckers that feed off the many includes a Regionally ants nests, and many fungi species thrive in the Important Geological Site humid grass tussocks. (RIGS) and a geological 5 Site of Special Scientific Walking along the scrub-edged paths from one Interest (SSSI). These 4 area to another offers a chance to glimpse a important designations variety of wildlife species, from the beautiful ensure that the Hamstone blackthorn blossom of spring, to the prehistoric is preserved for many years to come, and allows looking bracken, and hedgerow plants of summer, geologists and palaentologists to study it. All the villages followed by the browns surrounding the hill are made from Hamstone, and it and reds of Autumn. 6 has been quarried for nearly 2000 years. The busiest As you walk along time for quarrying on Ham Hill was 100 - 150 years ago you are likely to see in Victorian times – it would have been very noisy and many small hedgerow dusty up here! The Hamstone is still quarried for use in birds such as robins, local buildings and sculptures. 8 blackbirds and finches.

The Countryside Code On your visit to Ham Hill, please follow the Countryside Code: Be safe, plan ahead and follow any signs Leave gates and property as you find them Protect plants and animals and take your litter home Keep dogs under close control and on a lead in fields of livestock. Please clean up after your dog and use the dog waste bins provided Consider other people using the Country Park Please note: Ham Hill is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and on no account should any excavations be undertaken or metal detectors used—it is an offence to do so

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