South Somerset District Council - Ham Hill Country Park

7 : Aerial map of some of the Country Park

A 164 hectare (390 acre) Country Park centred on an Iron Age hill fort, which is managed by South Somerset District Council. There is extensive free car parking on site and plenty of open hilly landscape to explore, as well as shady woodlands and interesting old quarry areas.

Two big projects took place on Ham Hill in 2009, both funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund. The BBQ area has been developed with new disabled access benches, tarmac surfacing, hamstone BBQs & more bins.

Half of the all-ability trail that leads up to the war memorial via the stone circle has been resurfaced. The rest of the trail will be re-surfaced in 2010 and an outdoor classroom will be installed.

Our countryside team ran the Ham Hill Heritage Fayre on Saturday 5^th September, which saw the return of many popular historic re-enactment groups and plenty of new ones, who brought the exciting history of the site to life for people of all ages. We were joined by BBC's wildlife enthusiast Johnny Kingdom who judged the wildlife themed fancy dress competition! We also ran a wide variety of events throughout the year, including bushcraft courses, wildlife walks, hands-on history and nature activities for children, and arts and crafts events.

We have led many school visits throughout the year – looking at local geography and history to minibeast hunting and nature walks. We led a number of visits from community groups such as social clubs and special interest groups, and also many youth groups including Cub, Scout, and Brownie packs. Ham Hill has been awarded with a Quality Badge, which shows that as an outdoor education provider it meets national standards for health and safety and quality of teaching.

As part of a three year Heritage Lottery Funded (HLF) Project that began in 2007 and finished at the end of 2009, we launched a comprehensive pdf icon Ham Hill Education Pack [60Mb] (pdf document) in October last year, suitable for teachers and group leaders that work with children of all ages.

As part of the HLF project there are now two audio trails for Ham Hill that tell you all about the wildlife, history, geology and rangers at various stops around the Country Park. To download these two exciting trails and map for free, visit the Ham Hill website and click on Accessibility.

We now have a 'Tramper', which allows people with limited mobility to explore nearly the Country Park (it's free!). To find out more visit the Ham Hill website

In September, Alex Wilmot and Ashley Mitchell left us after completing their apprenticeships and two new apprentices, Dan Malik and Jamie Wardle joined us.

Ham Hill is now designated as a Local Nature Reserve (it is a Country Park too!). This gives the land a higher level of protection. Ham Hill has joined the BBC Breathing Places campaign to encourage people to do one thing to help nature - in July we ran nature themed activities for children as part of the BBC's 'Green Balloon Club' week. In December 500 trees were planted on Ham Hill as part of the BBC's national 'Tree o Clock' event. In 2009 Ham Hill received Country Park Accreditation; a national standard set by Natural England.

For more information about Ham Hill including directions, maps, photos and downloadable quiz and orienteering packs, go to the Ham Hill website on the 'Visit South Somerset' website. To find out about events at Ham Hill, visit the Activities and Events page on this website.

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