<< Our Photo Pages >> Bat's Castle - Hillfort in England in Somerset
Submitted by DavidHarcombe on Monday, 10 July 2017 Page Views: 13889
Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Bat's CastleCountry: England County: Somerset Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Minehead Nearest Village: Carhampton
Map Ref: SS988422 Landranger Map Number: 181
Latitude: 51.170058N Longitude: 3.448889W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
Internal Links:
External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
moorwind hevveh would like to visit
mrcrow has visited here
Slightly below it & to its west is a hillside site which appears to be an ancient farm with a low embankment around it. The higher part of the enclosure suggests the residential area. The lower western part is where animals would probably have been kept - deliberately lower so that their slurry flowed away from the humans who would presumably have been living slightly higher up the hillside than the animals.
Surprisingly, Bat's Castle has been associated by some (not by all - some tourist officials in Dunster were unaware of this until I showed them a booklet making this claim) with the legendary King Arthur in his youth. The suggestion is that Bat's Castle was his first command, & sallying out from here he fought & conquered a local pirate/warlord who was much troubling the local people at the time. When? Probably around 470 - 480 AD, if this story is to be relied on.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.
Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site
Nearby sites
Click here to view sites on an interactive OS mapKey: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed
Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)
To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.
Turn off the page maps and other distractions
Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
1.7km N 349° St. Leonard's Well (Dunster)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SS9850443867)
3.3km WSW 255° Timberscobe Wood Hill Fort Hillfort (SS956414)
4.4km SSE 164° Druids Combe wood boundary stone Marker Stone (SS99923799)
5.5km SSE 150° Langridge Wood Cist* Burial Chamber or Dolmen (ST01403740)
6.0km ESE 112° St Pancras Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST043398)
6.5km SW 216° Lype Hill Barrows* Barrow Cemetery (SS949370)
6.7km S 178° Leather Barrow Round Barrow(s) (SS98903553)
6.9km SSW 198° Cutcombe Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SS9649635711)
7.5km SSE 165° Wiveliscombe Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (ST00553486)
7.6km E 86° St Decumen's Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST064426)
8.0km W 273° Joaney How Cairn (SS90814279)
8.0km W 273° Robin How* Cairn (SS90764273)
8.2km SSE 160° Naked Boy stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (ST01493447)
8.4km E 80° Watchet Market House Museum* Museum (ST0710043439)
8.6km NW 304° Bury Castle (Exmoor)* Hillfort (SS91744716)
8.6km E 93° Battlegore* Round Barrow(s) (ST07454162)
9.0km SSE 152° Huish Champflower Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (ST0286234167)
9.2km WNW 298° Pixy Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SS9066646634)
9.6km SSE 161° Dun's Stone Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (ST018331)
9.6km W 265° Dunkery Beacon* Barrow Cemetery (SS892416)
9.8km WNW 301° St Agnes Fountain Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SS905474)
9.8km W 271° Sweetworthy settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement (SS890425)
10.5km W 263° Codsend Moor Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue (SS88364110)
11.2km W 266° Rowbarrow Group* Barrow Cemetery (SS87544154)
11.7km SE 135° Elworthy Barrows hillfort* Hillfort (ST070338)
View more nearby sites and additional images