Willett Tower, a folly near Elworthy, in Somerset's Brendon Hills.

Willett Tower, near Elworthy, in Somerset’s Brendon Hills is within the Forestry Commission’s Willett Hill Plantation.  The entrance to the plantation is on the B3224 just 4.9 miles west of the junction with the A358.  On the last day of March, I found it a very pleasant drive along a gently twisting and undulating road with primroses on the banks and one suicidal pheasant which I managed to safely avoid!

Willett Tower, near Elworthy, in Somerset's Brendon Hills.

There is a small parking area at the plantation entrance which gives access to a steady but steepening climb up the 825 feet high Willett Hill to the Tower.  As you climb the track, stop and look back to the east and north-east to enjoy, while catching your breath, the views over the tree tops to the Quantock Ridge.

The ridge of the Quantock Hills viewed from the track leading to Willett Tower. 

The folly tower is meant to represent the ruined tower of a Somerset church.  I have come across several suggestions as to who it was built for, but I will quote Pevsner who states it was:  “. . . a folly tower erected in 1820 (by Mr Belmerton, probably in connection with Willetts, a house further NE)”.

Regrettably, what started off as a sunny day with scattered cloud turned into a grey and slightly drizzly afternoon.   It was not really the best conditions for photography, but at least I got some exercise.       

Veronica Newman of the Campaign for an English Parliament asks if Gordon Brown's latest plan to keep Scotland in the UK has a price worth paying.

Activists from the Campaign for an English Parliament have obviously been busy with pen and paper as another letter appears in the Western Daily Press, this time from Veronica Newman.

Gordon Brown has popped up again with yet another plan to keep Scotland in the same Union as Wales, Northern Ireland and "the Regions".  "The Regions" being, of course, England but we all know Mr Brown finds mentioning the "E" word extremely uncomfortable. 

Be that as it may, Veronica Newman asks if the price of Gordon Brown's plan is worth paying.  Here is her letter published on March 23rd.

Is price of this plan worth us paying?

Gordon Brown has proposed a patriotic third way for Scotland in exchange for it remaining in the UK.

This includes giving Holyrood the authority to sign treaties with other EU countries, control after Brexit of the £800 million they currently contribute to the EU, control over fisheries, agriculture, environmental regulation, employment and energy and the authority to set VAT.

On top of this he wants the Barnett Formula to remain in place and the Bank of England to become the Bank of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. One has to ask is the price being demanded one worth paying.

Not only does Gordon Brown want Scotland to have its cake and eat it too he also has the effrontery to propose that EU powers be devolved to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies and the regions. By regions it must assumed he means England.

What then will be a patriotic option for England?

Oh yes, that would be an English Parliament.

Veronica Newman
Campaign for an English Parliament Trowbridge, Wiltshire



I entirely agree with the sentiments expressed but, as readers of this blog know, I would prefer independence for both England and Scotland.  Perhaps all the nations making up the UK should have a referendum as suggested in this letter below, published in the Western Daily Press  on March 27th.

I hope England opts for independence
I sympathise with Veronica Newman of the Campaign for an English Parliament when she questions whether Gordon Brown’s recently suggested proposals– or should that be bribes – to keep Scotland in the UK come with a price worth paying ( Western Daily Press March 23). Any such price would, of necessity, be paid by England and English taxpayers.

As far as the future of the UK is concerned, I rather liked the eminently reasonable idea suggested by Piers Morgan when, after a heated discussion about Scottish independence on GMB, he said: “I think if we allow Scotland to have another referendum so soon after the last one then, at the same time, there should be a referendum in England, and Wales, and Northern Ireland.”

Let’s see which nations choose the road to independence – I certainly hope England is one of them.

S.W.
Ilminster, Somerset

Ian Holt of the Campaign for an English Parliament hopes the Scottish people "vote for independence and have done with it."

In this letter to the Western Daily Press, published on March 18th, Ian Holt of the Campaign for an English Parliament reflects the growing feeling of exasperation in England toward never-ending demands from the Scottish National Party.

Time to give Scots their independence 
Nicola Sturgeon wants another Scottish independence referendum. This time I hope they vote for independence and have done with it.

The British state has bent over backwards for Scotland over the last 20 years – at the expense of England.

Theresa May should give England its own parliament and government. If she does not, she may find that we English will start to demand an independence referendum of our own.

Ian Holt

Campaign for an English Parliament, Hucclecote, Gloucester

I sympathise with Mr Holt's view, but I doubt if Scotland could maintain its current level of public spending outside of the UK and would soon be looking south for assistance.  I wrote this letter in response and am pleased to say it was published in the Western Daily Press on March 21st.

Either way the Scots will get our cash
I sympathise with Ian Holt of the Campaign for an English Parliament when he hopes Nicola Sturgeon’s new shot at Scottish independence succeeds ( Western Daily Press March 18).

English taxpayers’ money heading north of the border as a result of the British Government’s allocation of public funds through the Barnett Formula should stop if Scotland becomes a foreign country. However, I suspect a newly independent Scotland would doubtless qualify for shedloads of money from the Department for International Development’s burgeoning £12 billion foreign aid budget.

Whether Scotland votes for independence or not, English taxes might still be filling Scottish coffers!

S.W.
Ilminster, Somerset

Dunster Castle, near Minehead, in West Somerset. A fairy tale spot with spectacular views of the Bristol Channel.

The second Friday of a dull March produced some sunshine so I decided to take my camera to Dunster Castle, near Minehead, for the afternoon.  It is a National Trust property; Colonel Walter Luttrell gave The Castle and most of its contents to the Trust in 1976.

The journey up the A358 to Williton took a little longer than I anticipated: there was a bad accident with police and fire brigade in attendence on the dual carriageway south of Henlade while at Bishops Lydeard roadworks were causing long queues. Nevertheless, the drive north from Taunton through picturesque villages and bucolic countryside to Williton was relaxing and enjoyable.

Join the A39 and it is but a short journey through the villages of Washford, Bilbrook and Carhampton before you come across the tor which guards the approach to Minehead.  Upon this high pointed hill stands Dunster Castle.  

Colin Wintle succinctly describes The Castle in his Around Historic Somerset and Avon (Midas Books, 1978), he wrote nearly 40 years ago:

“It stands high over a setting so pictorially lovely as to be almost unbelievably romantic – a fairy tale spot, yet only a few hundred yards from the busy main road (A396) east of Minehead. 

On the site once stood a Saxon fortress.  When the Normans came the Conqueror granted it to the de Mohuns, but the oldest existing masonry is the late thirteenth century gateway.  By 1376 the Castle had changed hands.  Elizabeth Lutterell bought the demesne from the de Mohuns, and it remained in the family until Colonel Lutterell gave it to the National Trust – after exactly six centuries of occupation by his family.”(Sic).

The entrance to the National Trust car park is directly off the A39 and through the parkland.  Parking was easy, no doubt due to the time of year.  There is a steep walk up to the Gatehouse.

Dunster Castle and the view toward the Bristol Channel from the Keep Garden.

I spent the afternoon wandering around the footpaths which wend their way up through woods and terraced borders to the Keep Garden.  There are no longer any ancient structures there, but it is the highest point on the hill and provides some fine views of the Castle.  From Green Court, opposite the Gatehouse, I was able to look down upon the village of Dunster with its Priory Church of St. George, built of red sandstone and possessing a massive four stage tower.  Being such a clear day there were wonderful views from the battlements of the Quantock Hills and out over the Bristol Channel to the coast of Wales.  The huge block-like structure of the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point, 14 miles away as the crow flies, was distinctly visible.

The Priory Church of St. George in the village of Dunster, viewed from Green Court near the Gatehouse.

I spent so much time taking in the views that I did not have time to go inside any of the buildings or explore the parkland.  Dunster Castle, as will the village of Dunster, needs several visits to appreciate fully.

This little chap was patrolling the battlements.