Winsford Hill was leased by
Sir Charles Thomas Dyke Acland to the National Trust in 1918 for the benefit
of the nation.
Trie moorland on Winsford Hill is a habitat for many plants and animals. Birds like Curlew and Golden Plover nest in the heather, and thorny bushes make ideal nesting places for Linnet and Yellowhammer. Listen out too for Skylarks constant burbling song.
Exmoor ponies, which you will often see here, were probably saved from extinction by Sir Thomas Dyke Acland who established a breeding herd in the mid 19th century.
The Punchbowl, said to have been created by the devil - looking from Winsford Hill
The Punchbowl - looking from Winsford Hill
Winsford Hill is a heath-covered common, managed by the National Trust. The three Bronze Age Wambarrows mark the highest point, with good views to Dunkery, Dartmoor and the Blackdown Hills. It is a popular place to see the pure-bred Exmoor ponies of the well-known Anchor herd. At Spire Cross there is a standing stone is inscribed 'Caratacus Nepus', which means a relative of Caratacus, possibly the British leader who resisted the Roman invasion. However, the stone appears to have been inscribed centuries after his death. It once lay broken but now has a small shelter to protect it.
Spire Cross on Winsford HIll
Spire Cross on Winsford HIll
Exmoor from Winsford Hill. This is on the B3223, the Porlock to Exford road, north of Dulverton.
Most of the brownish clumps of plants are heather and the obvious yellow bush is gorse (Ulex europaeus).
In the vicinity of Oldrey Farm are the remains of an iron smelting site, where iron ore (mined on nearby Ison Hill) was smelted into metal. The site has not been accurately dated but could be 2000 years old. On Ison Hill are the scoops and hollows of the old mines, as well as mine shafts which date from the nineteenth century.
High on Winsford Hill are three Bronze Age burial mounds (tumuli) known as the Wambarrows. Their large size suggests that the people buried here were important. The tumuli are fenced to protect them from erosion, caused by people's feet and horses' hooves.
Exmoor Pony on Winsford Hill
The Caratacus Stone dates from the fifth or sixth century. It is thought to commemorate a descendent of the British King Caratacus who led a rej>btance movement against the Romans between 43-51 A.D.
OS Grid Reference: SS8734
Winsford Church
Winsford Hill
Winsford
Winsford Murder |
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