Walk this route yourself in 3D!
The Video is a 3D walk through of this route; it will give you a unique sense of having walked through the route before you start.
I have created 3D Videos of my adventures and have shared them with the OutdoorActive community as well as my walking community.
The Circular Hike to Beacon Batch on Black Down Hill is a scenic walk located in the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Somerset, England. This hike started close to the village of Burrington Combe and takes you through a variety of landscapes, including woodlands, open moorland, and pastures.
The Beacon Batch is the highest point on the Mendip Hills, and from there you get stunning views over the surrounding countryside, including the Bristol Channel and South Wales. It is situated on Black Down which is the largest area of open heathland in the Mendips, it is rich in wildlife, including birds like skylarks and plants like heather and gorse, and the region is also known for its caves and ancient sites, such as Bronze Age barrows.
For a wider choice of accommodation in the Somerset, Booking.com has a huge variety to browse through.
Getting There: Directions, GPX and App Link
The Hiking app I use to plan the walks and to also guide me around is the ‘Outdooractive App‘, which has a free a Pro and a Pro+ version, the Pro version will allow you to download the routes to your phone, and use them without using up your data.
The reason I mention it is that if you were to download a route, they are FREE and you can find this link to this route in my hike listings. You can then follow the arrows and voice on your mobile, as most of these walks are a bit tricky to explain.
- The road you park on is on the B3134 and is also known as ‘The Combe’, that road is off the A368
- The car park is called ‘Burrington Ham Car Park‘, and is on the side of the road on a bend.
Navigation Aids:
- Follow this route on the Outdooractive App, it is FREE, and it will guide you around safely.
- Download my hand crafted *GPX file, and use it on your own guidance devices.
- If you’re not sure what a GPX file is, I have put an explanation post together here that will hopefully explain it in plain words. It’s worth considering as well as mobile app navigation, as they will make your hikes better & safer.
Hike Map
Hike Profile
- Distance: 7m / 11km
- Duration: 4 hours
- Highest point: 1056ft / 321m
- Difficulty: Moderate, due to some short climbs, some loose terrain, a few rocks to walk over or around.
- Route conditions: Well-worn pathways most of the way around, good walking shoes are a must.
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Hike Description & Pics
This route is available from my OutdoorActive account, it is FREE and will guide you all the way around, no getting lost. Once on the app, click ‘Navigate’ in the bottom bar, and from the walk’s start point it will guide you all the way around.
Let’s get going.
The car park we started at is called ‘Burrington Ham Car Park‘, and is on the side of the road on a bend on the B3134.
Once parked, if you are facing the road to your left is a small wood and you will see a dirt path, follow that dirt path around to the road again and then cross over and follow the lane up from there, this is the start of the walk. You will see a house on your right and further along a gate and the tourist information board.
Once you start hiking the path will split, one way going right and the other up over the hill ahead. Take the path that’s heading up the hill, as you will return to this point from the lower path later. It’s a gentle walk up, and the path is clear, and once you are so far you will see the trig appear in front of you to the left slightly. This is the highest point in the Mendips and is called the ‘Beacon Batch’ and stands at 325m.
From Beacon Batch you will see a new path to your right, that is very straight and heading off into the distance. Take this path and keep going until you reach a crossroads, and a treeline in the distance. Take a sharp left here, and in a short while you will start to slowly head in a downward direction, and you will arrive at a gate.
Before going through the gate there is an interesting bunker on the right, and it’s what’s known as the ‘Black Down Decoy Site‘. From January 1940 onwards, an elaborate decoy strategy designed to protect urban areas from aerial bombardment was planned and implemented. Over the course of the next 18 months or so no fewer than 602 such sites were built. There were four types of decoys – dummy aerodromes (K and Q sites), diversionary fires (QF and Starfish), simulated urban lighting (QL sites) and dummy factories and buildings. The QF diversionary site at Black Down is one of the few that wasn’t totally eradicated after the end of the Second World War.
Once through the gate, head down the stone path and at ‘Tyning’s Farm & Trekking Centre‘ turn right, and pick up the ‘West Mendip Way’ path through the farmyard and along a path passing some beautiful cottages on your left. If you are into horses, you could book yourself a trek here also, which is something I might do the next time I head around, they cater for all levels, so I’ll be doing the beginner level, and picking the smallest horse!
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The path walking away from the farm will eventually bring you to an entrance into ‘Rowberrow Warren Woods‘, which is really popular with mountain bikers, hikers and horse trekkers but still a quiet place for those on foot to explore the shady tranquillity.
There are two points where you have splits in the path and on both occasions you head left, it would be useful if you followed the route supplied in the links above, either directly on the Outdooractive app or via the gpx.
You will return to thes woods on the way back, but on leaving it you need to turn right and head down ‘Holloway Lane’, at the end you will then join a main lane before walking into the village of ‘Rowberrow’ and a fantastic pub appears on your right called ‘The Swan Inn‘.
I stopped here had a coffee, looked at the menu, chatted to the owners and I’m going to make sure to eat here the next time I do this walk, it looked really nice, and I was told it is very popular, so best book ahead.
On leaving the pub carry on down the road, heading towards ‘Rowberrow Church’, follow the road around first to the left then to the right and a short walk later a gate will appear on your right. Walk back into the woods, and this path called the ‘Limestone Link’ will take you all the way back to that gate at the start./p>
The woods if it’s warm is a very cool place to be, I was grateful for it on this day but I can also imagine on a wet day it could be cold, muddy and quite tricky to walk through. The path winds through the woods then comes out on the side of the hill heading back to the car park.
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Again there are a couple of forks to navigate, and some narrow paths which mountain bike riders also use, so be careful. Once back at the gate, you can walk back to the car park on the main road, and like me you may want to read up on the history of the area once back home.
