Here we are offering Bed and Breakfast accommodation just of the A303, in fact as the crow flies we’re probably 500 yards from this major road and yet we have no noise from the A303.  And the reason is Castle Hill, on of the major landmarks in our small town.

This small image shows Castle Hill on the right and the town between Castle Hill and the church.  Its a great landmark and a place to walk with fine views from the top.  As you make the journey up Castle Hill you come across a sign explaining a bit of the history of the hill

And to save you the time in deciphering it from my rather poor photograph it reads

‘A Castle once stood on the summit of this hill.  It was built by Richard, EArl of Cornwall in 1255 and occupied the entire space on the hilltop.  It had six towers a hall, inner and outer gates, a chapel on the Eastern side and living quarters with a well on the Western side it probably became a ruin in the 15th Century.  Excavation of the foundations was done in 1887 by Thomas Baker and the Rev. Edwin Wyld’

It’s so worth the walk to the top, the views from the top give you a clear idea of what an excellent place it was to build a castle – you could see an enmy coming from miles away

the photographs above show the view to the North, the first one in taken in the winter with the A303 in the middle of the picture, the photograph on the right was taken in the summer from almost the same spot, the bench is a very nice place to sit after the climb up to the top.

Looking South the view is of Mere itself, I took this picture from the half way up the climb to the top of Castle Hill

On reaching the top this is what you find, a delightful open space

with a war memorial too.

If you’re planning a break en-route to Cornwall, Mere does make a great stopping off point. There’s Castle Hill to climb to stretch your legs after a long drive and of course Stourhead Gardens to visit before you head off again, either East or West.