Circle Clatworthy Reservoir, on the edge of Exmoor National Park. Created in 1959 and opened in 1961, it is a popular fishing spot and is home to a diverse range of wildlife. The dam has trapped the River Tone, flooding a number of long gone villages and settlements. On the peaks are remnants and ruins of mining, spanning generations, from the Roman period to the 19th century, while Clatworthy Castle, an Iron Age Hillfort, towers from above and Neolithic stones mark parish boundaries.
Distance: 5miles/8km
Time: 2-3 hours
Ability: Easy.
Max height: 942ft
Min height: 747ft
Total climb: 455ft
Terrain: Tracks, paths, fields and roads.
Start Point: Clatworthy Reservoir Car Park. (Postcode: TA4 2EJ, Grid Reference: ST042310, What Three Words: reserves.boardroom.beard).
Map: OS Explorer OL09 Exmoor
How to get there: From Taunton, travel north west on the A358 up through Bishop’s Lydeard. Turn left onto the B3224, heading into Exmoor, staying on the same road for approximately 9 miles. Turn left onto a small country lane, signposted for Clatworthy and unsuitable for large vehicles. At the next crossroads, turn right following the road straight through Clatworthy. Merge onto Glass Rock’s Lane, over the River Tone then take the next right to find the Reservoir car park.
Dogs: No dogs allowed within the reservoir boundaries.
Refreshments: None are available on route, but nearby is Ralegh’s Cross Inn.
Toilets: Next to the car park.
Related Walks: Sutton Bingham Reservoir, Roman Dorset, Dorset Hillforts, Dorset Stones, Dorset Railways and Dorset Rivers.
Walk
Clatworthy Reservoir sits on the edge of Exmoor National Park, in the Brendon Hills. Managed by Wessex Water, it covers an area of 130 acres (53 hectares) containing 5,364,000 cubic metres, which supplies over 200,000 homes in the Somerset area with fresh drinking water. The lake is frequently visited by fishermen, as the water contains a large population of high-quality trout, while the surrounding countryside is home to a range of wildlife. Geese, ducks and swans paddle the surface and the woodland is home badgers and deer.
The reservoir was created in 1959, completed in 1960 and opened in July of 1961 by Princess Alexandra of Kent. It impounds the headwaters of the River Tone as it weaves its way through the ancient valley of Cindercombe, now reaching depths of up to up to 96ft. It filled the adjoining valleys creating a number of little water inlets. When first opened the site was private but now a number of trails can be explored.
The reservoir is named after the neighbouring village to the east, which derives from the old English of ‘worth‘ for farm and ‘clate’ referring to a plant, now more commonly known as Burdock. Sitting higher up in the valley, the village managed to avoid the flooding but is now the reservoir’s gateway.
From the car park head down the steps, or ramp, to the dam. Here the River Tone continues its journey from high up in the fields of Exmoor, along a 21 mile route, to meet the River Parrett in Burrowbridge. Just upstream sits the site of Milltown, once a much busier environment with its own road passing by, but is now largely demolished and part of the fishery of the reservoir.
Cross over the towering concrete structure to enter Clatworthy Woods, the end of Mill Lane sitting at the bottom of the dam. Mill Lane originally continued into the valley, circling the woods to the north, its route now underwater. Enter into the trees, consisting of mainly beech, oaks, birch and rowan, to then curve to the right and up to the left, marked by signs for Clatworthy Round.
Follow the track to zig zag up through the trees, with glimpses of the lake on the left. High up on the peak of the hill to the right is the hillfort of Clatworthy Castle. Earlier activity, such as Neolithic standing stones and Bronze Age barrows, scatter the surrounding slopes but the fort was constructed during the Iron Age. It’s rising ramparts of a bank and ditch encloses an area of 5.8 hectares (14 acres) and is roughly triangular in shape. Taking advantage of the natural promontory, it has possible entrances in the south eastern and western corners. Although vulnerable to scrub, tree growth and agricultural movements, the ramparts are still mighty earthworks, while inside the enclosure area a number of post holes suggest the presence of timber or stone structures, along with storage pits. Use continued into the Roman period with evidence of glass manufacture and iron smelting discovered nearby.
Curve around the headland to then drop down into the sunken valley of Dudderidge. Walk around its tip, where the old demolished settlement sat, and follow the path on the opposite banks to Deer Point on the reservoir’s edge. Under the water the little Mill Lane continues, this time leading to cottages, Tripp Bridge and a lodge now longer visible.
Head up through Northern Wood to the top of the reservoir. Walk around its north eastern tip, crossing one of the many little streams that fills the valley, to reach Tripp, its farm sitting higher up on the hill to the right. Walk along the banks, with views south, directly over the full length of the reservoir, to reach its north western tip. Cross over the River Tone as it arrives to fill the valley, its source only a short distance away on the parish boundaries of Huish Champflower and Brompton Regis. Bend to the left to enter Stolford Wood.
Minerals, especially Iron ore, have been mined for industrial purposes in the area since Roman times. Bell pits were dug to extract lodes of iron ore that had reached the surface. Just to the north of Stolford Farm is a field, still known as Mine Shafts, which contains the remains of a bell pit, possibly dating back to the Roman period.
In the mid to late 1800’s the minerals were extracted by Brendon Hills Iron Ore Company. Tone Mine, based near Ralegh’s Cross to the north, was served by a small branch off the West Somerset Mineral Railway (WSMR), which was built primarily to carry the good quality iron ore from the mines to Watchet on the coast. It was then transported over the Bristol Channel to the steelworks on the Welsh side. The railway became fully operational in 1861 but was closed (for a second and final time) in 1882, the mines closing the following year. The mine buildings were blown up and the tracks lifted but remains are still visible in the landscape.
Curve around the headland to enter into the parish of Huish Champflower, its romantic name deriving from the Old English word ‘hiwisc’ meaning ‘homestead’ combined with the 12th century family of Thomas de Champflower. Its boundaries on the higher moors are marked with ancient stones including Dun’s Stone (at the source of the Middleton Stream) and Doleston as well as some others nearby including the Naked Boy’s stone, at the source of the River Tone. The origin of The Naked Boy name has a number of theories, one being a legend that it was a place where young boys were stripped and cruelly whipped for breaking any village ‘rules’. A less aggressive theory is that it related to cattle and the young bullocks that grazed the surrounding treeless fields.
Join back to the reservoir’s edge, around a little inlet and into Syndercombe Wood. Syndercombe (originally Cindercombe) was the village that was lost to the reservoir. Its name derives from the Old English ‘Coomb’ meaning valley and therefore translates to ‘valley of the burnt wood’, possibly even connecting it to the ancient burning and slag heaps of the Romans. At the time of the Domesday Book it had a recorded population of 14 households as well as a mill and was under the ownership of Turstin the Fleming. Turstin was regarded as one of the few proven companions of William the Conqueror during the Battle of Hastings and therefore his reputation of a tough and unforgiving warrior preceded him.
In 1959 the homes were abandoned and the water crept up the valley sides to bury several farms and cottages, as well as a mill complete with an overshot well and millstones, under its deep dark waters. The Cowlings had been the family that had lived at Cindercombe Farm but were liberally compensated and bought Tripp Farm where the family still lives today.
Skim along an ancient boundary of beech trees to then leave the woodland behind. Follow the grass track all the way down the reservoir’s eastern edge, passing the dam on the opposite shore. Weave around another little inlet to arrive at the overgrown fisherman’s car park at the bottom of Syndercombe Lane. This lane, now a dead end road, once led to the little village of Syndercombe, exiting on the opposite banks onto Glass Rock’s Lane, where the fisherman’s lodge now stands.
Continue along the grass track, keeping to the water’s edge aiming for the reservoir’s south western corner. Turn left to cross over the little Middleton stream as it enters the silty Rowes End and head south to the site of Westcott Farm, another building sacrificed within the reservoir’s boundaries. Follow the main path around the water’s southern bottom under the shadow of Westcott Wood.
Walk around the front of the Fisherman’s Lodge, on to its decking, then merge back onto the grass track of Clatworthy round, as Glass Rock Road meets Syndercombe Lane. Cut straight over the field, up the hill, to the corner and turn left on the road. Cut through the Life for a Life Memorial Forest to return to the car park and your vehicle.
