Goblin Combe is a

dry valley A dry valley may develop on many kinds of permeable rock, such as limestone and chalk, or sandy terrains that do not regularly sustain surface water flow. Such valleys do not hold surface water because it sinks into the permeable bedrock. There ...

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the ...

which stretches for approximately 3½ km from Redhill, near

Bristol International Airport Bristol Airport , at Lulsgate Bottom, on the northern slopes of the Mendip Hills, in North Somerset, is the commercial airport serving the city of Bristol, England, and the surrounding area. It is southwest of Bristol city centre. Built on t ...

on the A38, through to Cleeve on the A370. The combe is located at (), and is a

biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) originally notified in 1999, with being managed as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

by the Avon Wildlife Trust. The Combe runs along the southern edge of a large woodland. "Combe" is the same as the Welsh word "cwm" which means valley. Above the valley is Cleeve Toot an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

hillfort. It is a roughly oval settlement which is approximately in length by in breadth. Approximately to the north is another, smaller settlement. They are thought to have been a satellite community of nearby

Cadbury Hill Cadbury Hill is a small hill, mostly in the civil parish of Congresbury, overlooking the village of Yatton in North Somerset. On its summit stands an Iron Age hill fort, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Background Hill forts develop ...

Pits have been found at the site indicating the presence of round houses. There is a single stone rampart with a broad shallow outer ditch. There is also a prehistoric or Roman field system. Goblin Combe 2

Folk tale

Goblin Combe has a folk tale involving primroses:

“There was a parcel of children and they was a-picking primroses, see, and one poor little dear her wandered away on her lone self right down into Goblin Combe. She were only a little trot, see, and didn't know no better. Well, when she do find she's a lost she cries, and the tears do run down her dear little face, and dap on her pinafore like summer rain, and she do throw her self against a rock. Then the rock opens and there's the fairies all come to comfort her tears. They do give her a gold ball and they lead the dear little soul safe home – on account she was carrying primroses, see. Well, twas the wonder of the village and the conjuror he gets the notion he'd aget his fists on more than one gold ball when next the fairies opened the hill. So he do pick a bunch of primroses and he go on up Goblin Combe, and he was glad enough to get in to the rock after all he see and hear on the way up. Well, twasn't the right day, nor the right number of primroses, and he wasn't no dear little soul – so they took him!“

Flora and fauna

A population of the nationally scarce plant

stinking hellebore ''Helleborus foetidus'', known variously as stinking hellebore , dungwort, setterwort and bear's foot, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the mountainous regions of Central and Southern Europe and Asi ...

(''Helleborus foetidus'') grows on

scree slope Scree is a collection of broken Rock (geology), rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus depos ...

s in the combe, near Cleeve Toot; it is native at this site. Limestone fern (''Gymnocarpum robertianum''), another nationally scarce plant, is also found here on limestone scree. Other flowers include the autumn gentian,

autumn ladies'-tresses ''Spiranthes spiralis'', commonly known as autumn lady's-tresses, is an orchid that grows in Europe and adjacent North Africa and Asia. It is a small grey-green plant. It forms a rosette of four to five pointed, sessile, ovate leaves about in le ...

and yellow-wort. The site also supports a varied collection of butterflies, with over 30 species recorded. These include grizzled and dingy skippers, brown argus and green hairstreak.

Goblin Combe Environment Centre

Goblin Combe Environment Centre is a registered charity (No 1099543) which provides educational training and residential facilities for visiting groups. It is located within a large expanse of woodland ridges at the start of Goblin Combe. The centre's aim is to provide a wide range of environmental education to all ages and all sectors of the community. It uses the woods to provide a teaching space in a 'classroom without walls', and a dynamic learning environment for natural history.

Sources

English Nature citation sheet for the site
(accessed on 16 July 2006)

References

External links

{{SSSIs Avon biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North Somerset Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1999 Nature reserves in Somerset Somerset folklore Valleys of Somerset