The Somerset Levels, past, present and future

As I say in my New Age Encyclopaedia, Glastonbury in the Somerset Levels has been a spiritual centre for thousands of years. It is said that the first Christian settlement in Britain was established there by Joseph of Arimathea, and in the town today is an impressive ruined abbey. The town is presided over by the ‘tor’, a striking cone-shaped hill. On the top of the tor is a ruined church built over a prehistoric stone circle. A few miles away is Burrow Mump, a similar but less well-known hill, and that was where we went on Tuesday.

 

Burrow Mump has a ruined church on the top, like Glastonbury Tor. I wonder if there was once a stone circle here too.

Both Glastonbury Tor and Burrow Mump are encircled with small ridges. It is said that these are the remains of paths taken by prehistoric people in their rituals but I think they’re more likely to be the result of soil slippage as the slopes are very steep. Nevertheless, in order to prolong our fun, these were the paths that Ellie and I took. Frog joined us at the beginning and then got bored and climbed straight up the slope to the top.

Getting closer. The slope is much steeper than it looks in the picture but you can clearly see the ridges

We’d spent a lovely day shopping and eating in Glastonbury – it really is one of my favourite places, with friendly people and a special atmosphere – so the sun was setting as we pursued our walk.

We were fascinated by the vapour trails. (Ellie, left.)

Tree skeletons and setting sun around the other side of the mump

The Somerset Levels, as you probably know, are below sea level and were marshland until the Middle Ages, so Burrow Mump and Glastonbury Tor were islands. The views from the top of both are 360-degree.

From the top of Burrow Mump this Tuesday, with the trees lit apricot by the low sun. (Ellie, right)

Last winter the Levels did their best to revert to their former state, and here is the same view in January.

More or less the same view last January, with the Levels resembling an inland sea.

Will last winter's weather repeat itself? Will the flood precautions do their job? Or is the area a candidate for rewilding (see previous post) or at least an extension of the current wildlife reserves? Already bitterns have returned to these reedy patches, cranes which (according to George Monbiot) were once as common as seagulls (hence place names with 'cran' in them) have been reintroduced, and the area is famous for its flocks of starlings. More, I say (although I probably shouldn't).

NB The first two pictures were taken with my new camera (which then ran out of memory because I didn't yet have a card installed) and the rest with my old one. As you can see, the colours of the new camera are much brighter than those of the old. I hope I'm going to like them.