Two Combes Walk
O.S. EXPLORER 4 MENDIP HILLS WEST (ORANGE SERIES)
by Vince Simmonds
Start from West Harptree village and follow Ridge Lane,
found next to the village stores, uphill and just beyond the last house take a
footpath on the right (west) waymarked for the 'Limestone Link'. Head west across fields to Cowleaze Lane,
which can be rather over grown, take care at the end of the lane where you will
meet the road that goes up Harptree Hill. Go up the hill for a short distance and another path is met on the right
proceed west towards Compton Martin. From the fields good views can be seen of both
On passing the cottages almost immediately on the left is the path leading up to Compton Martin Ochre Mine NGR ST55/5419. 5670 which if you have picked up the key from the Belfry and brought with you a helmet, lamp and some caving grots is well worth the visit. Even if you don't feel the desire to venture underground there are some interesting surface features and relics of a bygone age to keep you amused for a while. Take care on the slope if it's wet it can be extremely slippery.
For a full
description and survey of the mine refer to Mendip Underground, D.J. Irwin
& A.R. Jarratt.
Follow the path up through the combe past the disused
quarries, the combe has some interesting karst features but they are rather
small. In the spring it can be an
amazingly green place. At the top of the
combe the path leads along the drive of Whitegate Lodge to reach another
lane. Turning left (south east) here
takes you to a crossroads, go straight over into
For a full
description and survey of these mines refer to Belfry Bulletin March 2000 Vol.
51 No.1 "An excursion to Harptree combe and mines" by Vince Simmonds.
You may also wish to have a good look around
The castle stayed in the hands of the de Harptree family,
but around the time of Henry III, Sir Robert de Harptree assumed his mothers
name of Gournay. Sometime between the 12 and 15 century the two Harptrees split
the Gournay family took control of West Harptree while the
By 1540
There was also the belief that the castle walls covered
valuable mineral deposits, it was around this time that a strong brass industry
flourished in
The presence of shot-holes in some of the mines would
suggest working of a later date possibly late 1600's or the 1700's. An interesting fact is that in 1728 Sir John
Newton, who owned the biggest part of East Harptree, also owned several coal
mines in Kingswood (
When reaching the bottom of the combe turn right (west) to
cross the stream and stile and crossing fields will lead back to
Allow 3 hours for the walk more if you plan to explore the mines and the castle.
Acknowledgements:
Worle, Woodspring and Wallop: The Calamine Connection, Nick
Corcos;