If you would like this information directly to your inbox with early access to Friends of the Quantocks events, a quarterly newsletter and annual publication about all things Quantock, why not become a member? There is also the opportunity to get involved with various projects and meet others who share your love of the Quantocks, whilst knowing you are helping up conserve and protect them.
Early Morning Bird Walk, Monday 8th May, 6.30-9am, from Holford Bowling Green.
Hosted by the Quantock Hills AONB team. Start your Coronation Bank Holiday morning a little earlier for a guided walk in the Quantock Hills temperate rainforest with Mark Baker, Quantock Hills Projects Manager and wildlife expert. More information and booking.
Arable Farming on the Quantock Coast, Wednesday 10th May, 9.45am, Lilstock Farm, Lilstock.
Hosted by the Quantock Hills AONB team. Farm tour discussing regenerative arable techniques to enhance biodiversity and feed a growing population, and support available to farmers to make positive changes with the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme, as well as other government schemes. More information and booking.
Wellness Walk, Wednesday 10th May, 10am Hodder’s Combe.
Hosted by the Quantock Hills AONB team. Join Joanna Hicks from Somerset Nature Connections and Iain Porter, Quantock Hills AONB Manager for a gentle walk through the Combe to experience the delights of the woodland in May, birdsong, bluebells and verdant brightness. More information and booking.
Countryside Nature Walk for Wellbeing and Mindfulness, Wednesday 10th May Wednesday 6.30pm-9pm
Aisholt Church car park TA5 1AR. Hosted by Pete Baker. A walk with stops to relax and appreciate the joys of the countryside with birdsong, wildflowers and spectacular landscape views. Cost: £5. Booking essential: email: [email protected] Tel:01278 671311
Three Extraordinary Years: The Coleridge’s at Stowey, Friday 12th May, 7.30pm. Thomas Poole Library, Nether Stowey.
Talk by author Bethany Askew exploring the inspiration behind the poetry on Coleridge’s humble cottage, the beautiful countryside of the Quantock hills, and his relationships with his wife, Sara and William and Dorothy Wordsworth. More information.
FULLY BOOKED – Dawn Chorus Walk & Breakfast, Saturday May 13th, 5am-9am, Holford Bowling Green.
The Dawn Chorus is a unique experience, and worth getting out of bed for!
We will walk up to the heath and as the sun rises we will listen to nature waking up. Pete Baker, local naturalist and bird enthusiast will lead the walk guiding us through the wonderful scenery as we are serenaded by the local wildlife. We will walk for about 2.5 hours with some hills but there will be plenty of stops as we listen to the birds before returning to Combe House Hotel in Holford for a delicious breakfast and reflection on the morning’s walk. £25pp with breakfast included. FULLY BOOKED.
Kilve Court: Family Day 2023, Saturday 13th May, 10am-4pm, Kilve Court.
Join the SSE team at Kilve Court for a day of family fun activities from their climbing wall, to stand up paddle boarding and archery. More information and booking.
Photo Walk: May Short Route from Stowey Rocks Farm, Wednesday 17th May, 10am-1pm.
Stowey Rocks Farm. Hosted by QLPS. A circular walk, from Stowey Rocks Farm, for an introduction to Plowright Organic, passing through Nether Stowey and past Coleridge Cottage. For anyone who would like a dose of nature, but would like to spend a while enjoying each stage of the journey on foot. Short Route is a 6.5km (4 mile) walk and has a mixture of countryside and farmland locations. More information & booking.
Halswell House & Grounds Open Days, Thursdays 18th May, 15th June and 13th July, 1.30-4.30pm.
View the inner workings of this full restoration project. Continuously inhabited since Domesday, Pevsner called Grade I-listed Halswell ‘the most important house of its date in the county’. The Elizabethan Manor and 1689 Baroque wing sit in C18th parkland with temples, follies and lakes. More information & booking.
Barford House Spaxton Open Gardens, Thursday 18th May, 2-5pm.
Open as part of the National Open Garden Scheme. Secluded walled garden contains wide borders, kitchen garden beds, shrubs and fruits trees; lawns lead to a 6 acre woodland garden of camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias. Stream-side gardens feature candelabra primulas, ferns, foxgloves and lily-of-the-valley among veteran pines and oaks, and some rarer trees. More information & booking.
Photo Walk: May Long Route from Stowey Rocks Farm, Saturday 20th May, 10am-2pm.
Hosted by QLPS. A circular walk, from Stowey Rocks Farm, for an introduction to Plowright Organic before walking to Stogursey and returning back through Nether Stowey. For anyone who would like a dose of nature, but would like to spend a while enjoying each stage of the journey on foot. This Long Route is a 12km (7.5 mile) walk and has a mixture of countryside and farmland locations. More information & booking.
ShoreSearch May 2023 Survey – St Audries Bay, Sunday 21st May, 11am-3pm.
Hosted by Somerset Wildlife Trust. Join SWT team of local volunteers to carry out a seashore survey as part of an ongoing survey of intertidal habitats along the Somerset coast. More information & booking.
Court House East Quantoxhead Open Garden, Sunday 28th May & Sunday 23rd July, 2-5pm.
Open as part of the National Open Garden Scheme. Lovely 5 acre garden, trees, shrubs (many rare and tender), herbaceous and 3 acre woodland garden with spring interest and late summer borders. Traditional kitchen garden (chemical free). Views to sea and Quantocks with cream tea refreshments. More information & booking