#worle

Summer means hot weather, tourists and the return of brambles to the hillfort. Worlebury Hillfort Group volunteers have been working hard through the heatwave to beat them back and keep the archaeology of the monument visible (and providing a place for dogs to run in the process).

After the beautiful show of wildflowers we had in the Glade this spring, the grass there has grown longer. To keep the area clear and allow visitors to see it’s many storage pits we have begun to cut the Glade. We then remove the cuttings, as leaving them to mulch would enrich the soil. You might think this would be good for the wildflowers but they actually prefer poor soil, so the raking must go on.

Clearing the cuttings on the Glade

While this work has been occupying many of our volunteers, others have been uncovering new parts of the hillfort. For the last few months they have been hard at work in an area to the south west of the Glade, clearing undergrowth, saplings and small trees. They’ve been assisted in their work by members of the 1st Ashcombe Scout Group and to thank them for their help we are calling this newly opened area of the hillfort ‘Scouts Glade’.

The newly cleared Scouts Glade

With more work over the coming months and years we are hopeful of making this part of the hillfort as accessible as the Glade. There is more interesting archaeology to see here and scope for wildflowers to flourish as light is able to reach the ground once again.

A section of the southern ramparts today

With the easing of lockdown restrictions, our volunteers were able to resume their work on the hillfort at the end of March. Of course, the health of the public and our volunteers remains our top priority and we would like to thank North Somerset Council officers for facilitating our safe return to the monument.

For the past few weeks, we have been focused on clearing the site of previously cut vegetation. As we do, the effect of our volunteers’ efforts over the last (covid-interrupted) year becomes clearer.

Parts of the monument that were completely hidden by undergrowth are now clearly visible. In particular, the southern ramparts (which face the town) can be seen for the first time in many years.

An artist's impression of the walls

The great banks of stone that today form the boundary of the hillfort are the collapsed remains of walls that protected it when it was built more than 2,000 years ago. As you can see from the artist’s impression above, they would have provided significant protection to anyone defending them. They would also have made the hillfort an impressive and imposing presence in the local area. In this regard it may have served a similar purpose to later Roman fortifications and medieval Norman castles.

We are doing what we can, but unfortunately these ramparts are still in danger from the vegetation that remains. If they can be cleared of trees and made visible from the town, it would go a long way to re-establishing Weston-super-Mare’s link to the hillfort and preserving it for future generations.

On top of this, a properly preserved and presented hillfort would draw more visitors to Weston. After all, there are few places in Britain quite like Worlebury Hillfort and few better views to be had than those seen from it.

We hope you are keeping safe and coping as best you can in these trying times.

Thankfully our volunteers were able to resume work on the hillfort in June. Of course, as in all parts of our lives, we are operating under new rules which we take very seriously. The safety of our volunteers and everyone on the hillfort while we are working is our highest priority.

We would like to thank North Somerset Council for their advice and assistance in facilitating our return in what continues to be a difficult time for all concerned.

Raking grass on the Glade

Being away from the hillfort didn’t just allow the brambles to get a head start on us this year; it has also given us a new appreciation for the beauty and fragility of the monument. We are even more determined to protect and preserve this historic gem hidden in the trees above Weston.

After hours of hard work by our volunteers, more of the hillfort is visible than for many years. It is now possible to stand in the glade (the grassy area in the centre of the hillfort) and see a great stretch of the ramparts around you.

The newly visible ramparts

When you realise that this mass of fallen stone originally formed huge walls it gives you a new appreciation of the place and how much effort was involved in its construction. Weston-super-Mare may have grown into a large town in just the last 200 years, but this has been a significant place for far longer.

Making the hillfort more accessible is good news for all visitors, but is especially useful for archaeologists. As Mark Bowden stated in his survey report on the hillfort last year “The site should be re-surveyed when the woodland and undergrowth has been cleared and limestone grassland re-established. Continuing clearance has already revealed features which were not visible at the time of survey".

A cleared area east of the Glade

It is very encouraging to think that our work is helping with the study of the hillfort as well as protecting it.

The full survey report can be downloaded from this page.

If you are able to visit the hillfort please do make the effort. The scale and atmosphere of the monument really has to be experienced first-hand and as the leaves fall even more of it will be visible. It’s also easy to remain socially-distanced up there.

The aim of the Worlebury Hillfort Group is to help uncover the monument so that it can be enjoyed by visitors and local people alike through the removal of invasive and damaging vegetation.

Clearing underway in the area near the original entrance

This is what we are working towards every Monday and Friday, so we are very pleased that North Somerset Council has issued a statement confirming their commitment to uncover the hillfort.

Recognising the danger to the hillfort posed by vegetation (the main cause for it being placed on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register), the Council intends to take action to protect the monument and raise awareness and understanding of its scale and significance.

The statement reads, in part:

“To achieve these objectives the council is now applying to the Forestry Commission for a felling licence to remove around six hectares of woodland in the hillfort area and carry out thinning of the northern cliff by 30 per cent. This totals five per cent of the 126 hectares of woodland in Weston Woods. The area will return to limestone grassland with significant biodiversity benefits for the ecology of the area…The restoration of limestone grassland will benefit not only the biodiversity but also the enjoyment of the hillfort.”

If the work goes ahead as planned it would be funded by a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, provided one can be secured.

The full statement is available to read here:

https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/news/plans-to-uncover-hillfort/

North Somerset Council has a webpage dedicated to the hillfort where, as well as other useful information, you can find a link to their recently adopted management plan:

www.n-somerset.gov.uk/hillfort

Worlebury Hillfort Group members are aware that the idea of felling trees will be shocking and upsetting to some. We support these plans because we believe that the result will be a Weston-super-Mare more in touch with its history, the preservation of an important monument and a more biodiverse Worlebury restored to its natural state; rare limestone grassland that will provide a much-needed habitat for threatened wildlife.

Meanwhile, our own work to open up more of the hillfort goes on. Working on frosty mornings, our volunteers have been clearing the areas between the trees in the south-eastern area of the fort.

Our efforts mean that visitors can now, with care, use the original entrance to the hillfort. The collapsed walls make it less dramatic than it would have been (and intimidating to potential attackers) but the steep climb is nonetheless a walk in the footsteps of our Iron Age ancestors.

The original entrance to the hillfort as used by ancient Britons over 2,000 years ago

As the weather improves please take time to visit the fort and appreciate the views it offers before they are obscured by new growth on the trees.

Soon the wildflowers will return to the Glade, a reminder of the habitat the whole monument could eventually offer if it is cleared of trees.

Germander Speedwell growing in the Glade (2018)