Many people find enjoyment walking on Ham Hill and taking in the panoramic views. It can be an inspirational place and many people have put pen to paper to describe the site. Llewellyn Powys from Montacute has written some of the most famous accounts of the hill. His words help bring to life the industries and atmosphere of yesteryear, but also reflect the peace that can still be found on the hill.
"And how rewarding to walk on Ham Hill on a fine spring day when the fields of Long Load and High Ham lie prosperously awaiting the return of another summer; when the daisy paddocks immediately below are patched with the drying amber-coloured skins of the gloving factories; when dandelions are out everywhere in the roadside hedges; and the songs of larks are so loud that they all but drown the scrannel pipings of the little Hebditch shepherd boy".
Llewllyn Powys, Somerset Essays 1937.
"In April, Witcombe echoes every few minutes to the mocking laughter of the woodpecker, as in lifting flights it casts a glancing volatile shade across the green turf, close cropped by mild eyed sheep from the Abbey Farm. On both sides of the field's steep slopes the gorse grows in dark masses rendering the air balmy soft in this windless sanctuary of sheltered peace. No field near Montacute is better placed for hearing the cuckoo for the first time, or indeed for seeing the first swallow, fresh in from the restless waves of sea beyond Golden Cap."
Llwellyn Powys, A Montacute Field.
As well as the written word there are many tales of ghosts and sightings well known in Somerset folklore. The history of the site has provoked a huge range of tales throughout
the ages.
A Norman princess is said to have been associated with a chapel on Ham Hill. There was indeed a chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross, the site of which was probably near the Prince of Wales Inn. It almost certainly ceased to be used after about 1535, but its memory lingered on. Village girls from the late 18th century knew of some consecrated ground on the hill, as a small crumb of comfort if their liaison ended in trouble.
Another story tells of treasure! An old lady, now deceased, once told she had heard of a great treasure to do with a monk from Glastonbury, who buried it under seven shelves near the Stoke approach to the hill. Such treasure we might think of as silver or gold, but surely the buried treasure of Ham Hill is the golden limestone, now spread throughout the land.
