The best MTB trails around Chillington

Gemini said If you find yourself in the rolling hills of West Dorset, the Church of St John the Baptist in Broadwindsor is a classic, "slow-paced" country church that packs a surprising amount of history into its quiet stone walls. It’s perched on a high spot right in the heart of the village, looking out over the square like it’s been keeping watch forever (which, to be fair, it mostly has). Here’s why it’s worth a wander: A Royal Fugitive’s Hiding Spot The village’s biggest claim to fame involves a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek. After losing the Battle of Worcester in 1651, King Charles II fled for his life and spent a night right here in Broadwindsor. While the King was hiding in a nearby inn (now private cottages), Parliamentarian soldiers actually arrived in the village to search it. Legend says he only escaped because a local woman went into labor in the same building, causing such a chaotic distraction that the soldiers moved on without finding him. He eventually escaped to France, but the church stands as a silent witness to that tense night. The "Witty" Rector In the 1630s, the church was led by Thomas Fuller, a man described as one of the first English writers to actually make a living from his pen. He was famous for his "pregnant wit" and once said, "Charity begins at home, but should not end there." * Even today, the village is very proud of him—you’ll often find his quotes inscribed in the local community pub, The White Lion, just down the road. What to Look For Inside The "Wonky" Architecture: The church has a mix of styles because it’s been rebuilt and patched up over nearly 900 years. You’ll see heavy, rounded Norman arches on one side of the nave and more pointed "Early English" ones on the other. It gives the interior a slightly mismatched, organic feel. The Ancient Font: There is a square font made of Purbeck Marble that dates back to the early 1200s. It’s been used to baptize village children for eight centuries. The Bells: The tower holds a ring of six bells. Some of them are "pre-Reformation," meaning they’ve been swinging in that tower since before Henry VIII broke away from Rome. The "Compromise" Clock: If you’re there during the day, you’ll hear the clock chime. There was a recent local debate about whether it should chime at night; in a very "British village" move, they compromised—it now stays quiet from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM so the neighbors can sleep!

Castle Neroche is a significant historical site in Somerset, England, located on the northern escarpment of the Blackdown Hills. It is not a standing stone castle today, but rather a complex of impressive earthworks that reveal a long history of use.

Donyatt Halt Records for Donyatt Halt state: "This halt, opened on May 5th, 1928, has a single platform edged with wooden sleepers, and a small wooden shelter. A pathway leads up from the platform to the road, which crosses the line by an overbridge at the Ilminster end of the platform. An ornate oil lamp stands at the top of the path and there are various posts with brackets for hanging oil lamps in winter." It would be the guard's duty to light and extinguish these lamps. Five trains a day operated in each direction taking about 45 minutes for the 15 - mile journey from Taunton to Chard, having made stops at Thornfalcon, Hatch, Ilton, Ilminster and Donyatt. Donyatt.com

The photo is not correct. It's a pretty stream and ford, not a canal!

Ditto on the rigid steel :-)

Beautiful panoramic views across miles upon miles of countryside.

Norman castle The earthworks at the site are larger than would normally be found in a castle from the Norman period, raising speculation that it reused previously developed features. The castle was probably built by Robert, Count of Mortain in the 11th century. Archaeological evidence suggests it was built in several stages. During the first a rampart enclosing 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) was built. Soon after the Norman Conquest a smaller inner ringwork was constructed. The site was later converted into a motte and bailey, with a corner of the 20 feet (6.1 m) high motte serving as a barbican. By the early 12th century the castle was no longer in regular use. However, its use was resumed during The Anarchy, a period of civil war and unsettled government during a succession dispute between the supporters of King Stephen (1135–1154) and those of his cousin, the Empress Matilda. Continued use in the later 12th century may have been by administrators of the surrounding royal forest as a base for operations against poachers.

Castle Neroche is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle on the site of an earlier hill fort in the parish of Curland, near Staple Fitzpaine, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The origin of the term Neroche is believed to be a contraction of the Old English words nierra and rechich or rachich for Rache, a type of hunting-dog used in Britain in the Middle Ages, giving a meaning of the camp where hunting dogs were kept. This also gives the site its alternative name of Castle Rache. Iron Age The reason for the construction of Iron Age hill forts has been a subject of debate. It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or a military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. The dominant view since the 1960s has been that the increasing use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Deposits of iron ore were separated from the sources of tin and copper necessary to make bronze, and as a result trading patterns shifted and the old elites lost their economic and social status. Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe believes that population increase played a role and has stated "[the forts] provided defensive possibilities for the community at those times when the stress [of an increasing population] burst out into open warfare. But I wouldn't see them as having been built because there was a state of war. They would be functional as defensive strongholds when there were tensions and undoubtedly some of them were attacked and destroyed, but this was not the only, or even the most significant, factor in their construction.