Summary of Landscape Character

• Limestone plateau surrounded on three sides by river valleys

• Relatively steep river valleys

• Small irregular shaped fields in valley and rectilinear shaped fields on the plateau

• Fields enclosed by clipped hedges on plateau with unclipped hedges in the valleys

• Industrial past evident from remains of railway and colliery spoil heaps

• Core of coal mining village of Haydon built in Lias Limestone with small scale modern in-fill development,

• Some individual farmsteads

• Prominent 20^th century industrial and residential development

• Few individual hedgerow trees but large areas of hawthorn scrub, scrub woodland and new plantation

• Open landscape on higher plateau with wide views

• Older buildings built from Lias Limestones with slate roofs. New buildings are brick and concrete tile.

Description

Landform and Drainage Pattern

7.15.5 The two smallest parts of the character area lie to the west of the A367 and comprise principally the upper steep slopes of the River Somer Valley. The lower slopes and part of the valley floor are developed mainly for housing. The largest part of the character area lies to the east of the A367. The dominating landform characteristic here derives from the high Oolitic Limestone central plateau area around Haydon which is bounded by two steep-sided tributaries of the Wellow Brook; Snail’s Bottom to the west and Kilmersdon Brook to the east. The tributaries curve around the plateau to the north and merge at the Radstock Railway Lands. To the south west of Snail’s Bottom is a small part of a lower, more undulating Lias Limestone plateau and in this area the Snail’s Bottom Valley is more asymmetrical. The western valley side is very shallow and the eastern valley side is steep where it abuts the Oolitic Limestone plateau. The lowest point of the area at the Radstock railway lands is about 75m. The highest point is 136m above Haydon. 

7.15.6 T he tributaries of the Wellow Brook through the area have several minor tributaries such as those flowing from Redhouse Farm to the stream along Snail’s Bottom and from Foxhills to the stream from Kilmersdon. They are fed from numerous springs that issue from the point where the Lias Limestones meet the Penarth Group shales and clays. The frequency of springs particularly east of Haydon gives a marshy character to this part of the valley.

Land-uses

7.15.7 The land on the plateau is mainly used for arable with some short-term pasture. In the valleys by contrast the land is mainly used for permanent and short term pasture with some scrub and woodland on the steeper slopes.

Fields, Boundaries and Trees

7.15.8 The field pattern is angular but irregular and the fields are medium and small in size. The steeper slopes tend to have the smaller more irregular fields. The hedges of both the higher and the lower plateau areas tend to be low and well clipped but with very few trees within, giving a very open character. In the valleys the hedges are commonly unclipped but are also sometimes clipped and they tend to be quite ‘gappy’. In places scrub merges with the hedges and as a result the boundaries of fields are often quite indistinct.

7.15.9 Grove Wood to the west of Haydon is one of the most distinct areas of woodland in the area and is registered as ancient semi-natural woodland. There is considerable scrub along the stream sides and upper slopes of the valleys and some scrubby woodland on the spoil heap by the colliery tramway at Haydon. Newly planted areas are found adjacent to Grove Wood and along the upper slopes of the Kilmersdon Valley. The scrub consists mainly of hawthorn and bramble with course grasses. A more open scrub is found on the disused workings west of Haydon where the spoil cannot support larger species.

Settlement and Communications

7.15.10 Haydon is the main settlement in the area. It is a compact village of mining terraces in Lias Limestone with concrete and slate roofs. There is also some more modern in-fill development. Other buildings are stone farmhouses with a mixture of outbuildings and barns in both traditional and modern materials. The former colliery site is now an industrial estate to the east of Haydon.

7.15.11 The principal roads through the area are aligned north to south connecting settlements to the south with Midsomer Norton and Radstock. The most important is the A367, which is the Roman road the Fosse Way. A smaller road connects Haydon to Kilmersdon across the high point of the area. The line of the disused railway follows the floor of the valley north of Kilmersdon.

Landscape Characteristics

7.15.12 The valleys give an enclosed feel to the landscape in contrast to the plateaux with their open views. The tower of Downside Abbey is visible across the plateau to the south. The strongest elements of this landscape are the remains of the coal mining industry and the close proximity of the built-up area both residential and industrial which influence almost all views and brings with it pressures for recreational use. The large new warehouses at the Westfield Industrial Estate are an unsightly and dominating influence in the Snail’s Bottom area. Snail’s Bottom, the old Haydon tip and Kilmersdon Valleys are particularly well used for casual recreation.

7.15.13 Haydon itself is an outlier of Radstock and was built to house the miners for the local pit. The disused railway line and inclined railway at Haydon form important elements within the Kilmersdon valley east of Haydon.

7.15.14 There is a tumulus to the north of Haydon and the land around it is of archaeological significance. There is a quarry nearby which would have provided Lias Limestone for local buildings and is now designated a SSSI.