A stroll over Herne Hill on the southern fringe of Ilminster in South Somerset.

On the last Friday in October I decided to go for a stroll over wooded Herne Hill on the southern fringe of Ilminster in South Somerset.  It was a bright, sunny, warm day and it seemed ideal for taking a few pictures of the autumn colours.  The hill, 361ft high, is owned and maintained by Ilminster Town Council.

Leaving the car in the pay and display car park opposite Tesco in Shudrick Lane, I turned left towards Ditton Street and then up the steep Listers Hill to the edge of town.  At the end of the last row of Edwardian terraced houses I turned west along the lane and then crossed the playing field where I picked up the footpath signposted to Greenway and Donyatt. 

Taking the tree-lined lane which goes steadily uphill I  came to a bench where a gap in the trees allowed a fine view north to Ilminster and its Church of St. Mary, built of Ham stone in the latter half of the fifteenth century and known as The Minster, with Beacon Hill on the skyline.

Ilminster in South Somerset viewed from Herne Hill.

The path became steeper and stepper until I reached the trig point at the top of the hill where another handy bench allowed a rest before I took some photos of the view east along Shudrick Valley.  The views to the south were difficult to photograph because of the low autumn sun, but I could see the tower of St. Andrew’s Church at Dowlish Wake and the hamlets of Sea and Peasmarsh.

Looking east along Shudrick Valley from the trig point on Herne Hill.

Setting off across a crisp golden carpet of Beech and Oak leaves at the top of the hill I soon came upon an intriguing tree stump inlaid with two pence pieces.  Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to create a fascinating pattern, but what it signified I do not know.

A tree stump decorated with two pence pieces on the summit of Herne Hill.

Autumn colours on Herne Hill near Ilminster in South Somerset.

Exiting the western side of the wood it was now straight downhill all the way to the old railway line at Donyatt Halt.  As I followed the hedgerow and track there were fine views of the village of Donyatt and its village church of St. Mary with the Blackdown Hills beyond. To the north-west the Quantock Hills were easily visible. 

The path to Donyatt from Herne Hill near Ilminster.  The Blackdown Hills are on the skyline.

At Donyatt Halt I rested awhile then took some photos of the substantial World War Two Taunton Stop-Line defences - that will be for a future blogpost – before walking along the cycle path, which follows the track bed of the old railway, back to Ilminster.