Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills are a range of
limestone hills (
karst) situated to the south of
Bristol and
Bath in north
Somerset,
England. The hills are bounded by the
Somerset Levels in the south and west, and the
River Avon and
Chew Valley Lake in the north. The hills give their name to the roughly analogous local government district of
Mendip, but some of the northern slopes are located in the bordering Unitary Authorities of
North Somerset and
Bath and North East Somerset, part of the former
County of Avon which was dissolved in
1996.
200 sq
km of the Mendips are an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a designation which gives the area the same level of protection as a
national park.The Mendip Hills AONB Service and visitor centre is at the Charterhouse Centre near
Blagdon.
The name Mendips is probably derived from the
mediaeval term 'Myne-deepes'.
Many of the villages in the valley have their own
parish councils which have some responsibility for local issues. They also elect councillors to district councils e.g.
Mendip or
Sedgemoor and
Somerset County Council or unitary authorities e.g.
Bath and North East Somerset, which have wider responsibilities for services such as education, refuse, tourism etc.
Each of the villages is also part of a constituency, either
Wells (UK Parliament constituency) or
Wansdyke (which will become
North East Somerset), each of which elects one
MP to the
Westminster Parliament. The area is also part of the
South West England (European Parliament constituency) which elects 7 members to the European Parliament.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides police services to the area.
The Mendip Hills are the most southerly Carboniferous Limestone Upland in Britain and are comprised of 3 major anticlinal structures, each with a core of older
Devonian sandstone and
Silurian volcanic rocks. The latter are quarried for use in road construction and as a
concrete aggregate.
The response of the limestone to weathering has resulted in a range of surface features, including
gorges, dry valleys,
screes and
dolines. These are complemented underground by a large number of
caves, including
Wookey Hole both beneath the
plateau and at the base of the southern
escarpment. There are also
limestone pavements, and a number of
gorges, most famously
Cheddar Gorge and
Burrington Combe.
Springs, a number of which deposit
tufa, are a particular feature of the eastern part of the hills.
The Devonian and Silurian rocks are generally more resistant to weathering and form some of the highest points on the hills. The highest point of the Mendip Hills is
Beacon Batch on
Black Down at 325
metres (1068
feet) above sea level. Black Down is of a moorland characteristic, with its steeper slopes covered in
bracken and its flatter summit in heather and grasses rather than the pastureland which covers much of the plateau. In the
Second World War, a
bombing decoy was constructed on top of Black Down, and piles of stones (known as a
cairn) were created to prevent enemy aircraft using the hilltop as a landing site. Other high points include
Bleadon Hill and
North Hill near
Priddy.
In some areas the Carobiniferous Limestone and the Dolomitic Conglomerate have been mineralised with
lead and
zinc ores. From the time of the
Romans until the late
Victorian era, the hills were an important source of
lead. These areas have been the subject of a major
mining industry in the past and this is reflected in areas of contaminated rough ground known locally as ‘Gruffy'. The word "gruffy" is thought to derive from the grooves that were formed where the lead ore was extracted from veins near the surface.
There are three nationally important semi-natural habitats which are characteristic of the area:
Ash-Maple woodland (often with abundant small-leafed
lime),
Calcareous grassland and
Mesotrophic grassland.
Much of the Mendip Hills is open
calcareous grassland which supports a large
variety of wild
flowering plants and
insects. Grazing by
rabbits,
sheep and
cattle maintains the grassland habitat. Some of the area is native
deciduous woodland.
Some of the area has been used intensively for
arable agriculture, particularly since
World War I. Some of this land is now being returned to grassland as the demand for arable land in Britain declines, but the use of fertilisers and herbicides have reduced the biodiversity in these areas.
Many bird species can also be found. Of particular significance is the
Peregrine Falcon which has gradually recolonised the Mendips over the last 20 years. It breeds on sea and inland cliffs and also on the faces of both active and disused quarries. The upland heaths of the west Mendips have recently increased in ornithological importance, due to colonisation by the
Dartford Warbler, which can be found for example at
Black Down and
Crook Peak. In Britain, this species is usually associated with lowland heath. The woodlands at
Stock Hill are a breeding site for
Nightjar and
Long-eared Owl.
The Waldegrave Pool, part of
Priddy Mineries is an important site for dragonflies, including
Downy Emerald (the only Mendip breeding site for this species) and
Four-spotted Chaser.
A range of important small
mammals are found in the area including the
Dormouse which is restricted largely to
coppice woodland and scrub,
Bats including the nationally rare
lesser and
Greater Horseshoe Bats (
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) which have a number of colonies in buildings, caves and mines in the area.. A rare and endangered species, the greater horseshoe bat is protected under the
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and is listed in Annex II of the 1992
European Community Habitats Directive.
Amphibians such as the
Great crested newt have a wide distribution across Mendip and is often found in flooded disused quarries.
Several rare butterflies are also indigenousto the area. The
Large blue butterfly became extinct in the late 1970s since when a research project has been undertaken into its ecology and reintroduction. A successful reintroduction has been made to a calcareous grassland in the Mendips. Other species include the nationally scarce
Pearl-bordered Fritillary,
Duke of Burgandy and
White-letter Hairstreak.
The
White-clawed crayfish is also nationally rare and a declining species with a small population in a tributary of the
Mells river.
A well known Mendip feature is the dry stone walls which fragment the pasture into fields. Constructed from local limestone and in an "A frame" design, the walls are strong yet contain no mortar. Unfortunately years of neglect are allowing many walls to disintegrate, being replaced or contained by a mix of barbed wire and sheep fencing. These dry-stone walls are of botanical importance, supporting important populations of the nationally scarce
Wall Whitlow-grass. Amongst the plants which occur in the area are the
Cheddar pink,
Purple gromwell,
White rock-rose,
Somerset hair-grass and
Starved wood-sedge.
Along with the rest of
South West England, the Mendip Hills has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of
England. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10
oC and shows a
seasonal and a
diurnal variation, but due to the modifying effect of the sea the range is less than in most other parts of the UK. January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 1 and 2 °C. July and August are the warmest months in the region with mean daily maxima around 21 °C. The number of hours of bright
sunshine is controlled by the length of day and by cloudiness. In general December is the dullest month and June the sunniest. The south-west of England has a favoured location with respect to the
Azores high pressure when it extends its influence north-eastwards towards the UK, particularly in summer.
Convective cloud often forms inland, especially near hills, and acts to reduce sunshine amounts. The average annual sunshine totals around 1600 hours.
Rainfall tends to be associated with
Atlantic depressions or with convection. The Atlantic depressions are more vigorous in autumn and winter and most of the rain which falls in those seasons in the south-west is from this source. In summer, convection caused by solar surface heating sometimes forms shower
clouds and a large proportion of rainfall falls from showers and
thunderstorms at this time of year. Average rainfall is around 800-900 mm. About 8-15 days of
snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean
wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the South West.
The area contains many
neolithic,
iron age and
bronze age remains, including
barrows and
forts. The
caves of Cheddar Gorge in particular have preserved much
archaeology as flood waters have washed artifacts into the caves and preserved them in silt. The
Cheddar Man was found here.
The name is believed to be cognate with
Mened (Welsh
mynydd), a
Brythonic term for upland moorland. The suffix may be a contraction of the
Anglo-Saxon hop meaning a valley.
In recent centuries the hills, like the
Cotswolds to the north, have been quarried for stone to build the cities of Bath and Bristol, as well as smaller towns in Somerset.
Whatley Quarry and
Torr Works approximately mark the eastern end of the Mendips and are major suppliers of roadstone to south-east England. A large proportion of the stone is moved by rail company
Mendip Rail.
The Mendip Hills is home to the
Mendip UHF television transmitter installed in the 1960s, the tallest mast in the region situated on
Pen Hill near
Wells.
Since 2003 arguments have raged over plans to erect a 300 foot
Wind Turbine on the Mendip Hills near
Chewton Mendip. After months of debate, the proposal was rejected by
Mendip District Council supported by a range of local groups and organisations. The key arguments for rejection was that the proposed location for the turbine was on the edge of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, that the environmental impact and amount electricity generated would be nominal and that it would be a terrible eyesore in such a stunning environment. In April 2006 a planning enquiry gave Ecotricity permission to build a 335 foot (102m) turbine during the next year.
The Mendips are home to a wide range of outdoor sports and leisure activites. The particular geology makes it a national centre for
caving and
cave diving, in addition to
climbing and
abseiling. The rich variety of
fauna and
flora also makes it attractive for
Hillwalking and those interested in
natural history.
The
Mendip Gliding Club is based at Halesland Airfield near
Priddy.
It is also home to several festivals including the
Big Green Gathering, folk festival and sheep fair in
Priddy and a proposed music festival at Chewton Mendip.
*
Cheddar*
Shepton Mallet*
Wells*
Geology of the United Kingdom*
Mendip Hills website*
The Mendip Society website*
Mendip Times*
Active Mendip
