place

Road Castle

Archaeological sites on ExmoorHill forts in SomersetHistory of SomersetIron Age sites in SomersetScheduled monuments in West Somerset

Road Castle is an Iron Age bank and ditch in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west from the village of Winsford. The ditch is almost square in plan with rounded corners and covers an area of approximately 0.7 acres (0.28 ha).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Road Castle (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.1261 ° E -3.6264 °
placeShow on map

Address

Road Castle

Church Hill
TA24 7LS
England, United Kingdom
mapOpen on Google Maps

linkWikiData (Q7339313)
linkOpenStreetMap (254152756)

Share experience

Nearby Places

Exmoor
Exmoor

Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath. Exmoor is more precisely defined as the area of the former ancient royal hunting forest, also called Exmoor, which was officially surveyed 1815–1818 as 18,810 acres (7,610 ha) in extent. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and 55 km (34 mi) of the Bristol Channel coast. The total area of the Exmoor National Park is 692.8 km2 (267.5 sq mi), of which 71% is in Somerset and 29% in Devon. The upland area is underlain by sedimentary rocks dating from the Devonian and early Carboniferous periods with Triassic and Jurassic age rocks on lower slopes. Where these reach the coast, cliffs are formed which are cut with ravines and waterfalls. It was recognised as a heritage coast in 1991. The highest point on Exmoor is Dunkery Beacon; at 519 metres (1,703 ft) it is also the highest point in Somerset. The terrain supports lowland heath communities, ancient woodland and blanket mire which provide habitats for scarce flora and fauna. There have also been reports of the Beast of Exmoor, a cryptozoological cat roaming Exmoor. Several areas have been designated as Nature Conservation Review and Geological Conservation Review sites. There is evidence of human occupation from the Mesolithic. This developed for agriculture and extraction of mineral ores into the Bronze and Iron Ages. The remains of standing stones, cairns and bridges can still be identified. The royal forest was granted a charter in the 13th century, however foresters who managed the area were identified in the Domesday Book. In the Middle Ages sheep farming was common with a system of agistment licensing the grazing of livestock as the Inclosure Acts divided up the land. The area is now used for a range of recreational purposes.

South Exmoor SSSI
South Exmoor SSSI

South Exmoor (grid reference SS880340) is a 3132.7 hectare (7742.3 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Devon and Somerset, England, notified in 1992. The site consists of several fragments of land on the south side of Exmoor. In Devon the site includes Barcombe Down and North Molton Ridge, southeast of South Radworthy, Molland Common, north of Molland, and West Ansty and East Ansty Commons. In Somerset the site includes Brightworthy Barrows and part of Withypool Common, Winsford Hill and Haddon Hill, all within the Exmoor National Park. The site contains extensive areas of heathland including lowland communities which are only found in South West England and South Wales. The River Barle and its tributaries flow through parts of the site and submerged plants such as alternate watermilfoil (Myriophyllum alterniflorum) are abundant. There are small areas of semi-natural woodland within the site, including some which are ancient. The most abundant tree species is sessile oak (Quercus petraea), the shrub layer is very sparse and the ground flora includes bracken, bilberry and a variety of mosses. The heaths have strong breeding populations of whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) and European stonechat (Saxicola rubicola). northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) are common near stone boundary walls and other stony places. Grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia) breed in scrub and tall heath. Trees on the moorland edges provide nesting sites for common redpoll (Acanthis flammea), common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and common raven (Corvus corax).