Winscombe

The village of Winscombe in Somerset lies at the edge of the Mendip Hills, a range of limestone hills running between Weston-super-Mare and Frome with its western part designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Winscombe and the area around the Mendip Hills is popular with visitors throughout the year, offering a wide range of outdoor sports and leisure activities including caving and cave diving, climbing, hill walking and natural historic attractions. The arrival of the railways in the 19^th century led to the development and growth of Winscombe; it was on the Cheddar Valley line and although it is now closed, the old line serves today as a public footpath and cycle track.

Winscombe has some amenities and shops and is within reach of other settlements offering a broader choice for dining, shopping and leisure; Winscombe does though, have more than enough sites of interest to explore. Just west of the village is the Max Bog biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, a vast biological site managed by the Avon Wildlife Trust and protected for its range of wetland plants. The rare Marsh Helleborine, Lesser Butterfly-orchid and Fragrant Orchid are found here and Max Bog is also home to Yellow Rattle, Meadow Sweet and Meadow Thistle along with many species of moth, grasshopper and dragonfly.