Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Beacon Batch summit trig point – Velvet Bottom Nature Reserve loop from Shipham

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Beacon Batch summit trig point – Velvet Bottom Nature Reserve loop from Shipham

Hard

4.5

(8)

hikers

Beacon Batch summit trig point – Velvet Bottom Nature Reserve loop from Shipham

07:01

24.2km

610m

Hiking

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: April 16, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Mendip Hills National Landscape

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

7.42 km

Beacon Batch summit trig point

Highlight • Viewpoint

This special site is designated as a Site of Special Scientific interest for its valuable wildlife habitats and is a nationally important site for its archaeology from the late Stone Age and Bronze Age through to the Second World War. Black Down provides the largest area of open access on the Mendip
Hills at over 400 ha.

Black Down, like most heathlands, is formed through a combination of factors– soil type, rainfall and human activity. The underlying Old Red Sandstone rock together with high rainfall created a waterlogged and acidic soil. The removal of tree cover by our Bronze Age ancestors 2,000 years ago helped to make sure that the soil stayed damp and acid. Only certain plants can survive in this type of ground. The key species include heather or ling, bell heather, bilberry, purple moor grass and European gorse, along with mosses and lichens.

Now the bracken is managed by harvesting and grazing by cattle and wild ponies to allow the heathers and grasses to flourish again. Black Down supports a wide variety of birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates.

Tip by

10.2 km

Blackmoor Nature Reserve

Highlight • Natural

Blackmoor Nature Reserve is part of the wider Cheddar Complex Sites of Special Scientific Interest which is a network of nature reserves on the Mendip Hills. Each
reserve has its own unique character and wildlife. All of the nature reserves are Sites of Special Scientific Interest which provide protection to the plants and animals found there.

The industrial history of the site is part of what makes it so special. Blackmoor was mined for lead as far back as Roman times, with more recent mining by the Victorians leaving the buddle pits (circular washing pits to separate lead ore), dams and settling beds that can still be seen today. The whole of the reserve is scheduled as an Ancient Monument to protect the Victorian lead workings.

The high concentration of lead in the soil prevents most plants from growing, so the flora of the site is unusual, with only specially-adapted plants able to survive. A significant area of reserve is part of the Charterhouse lead works Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Please clean up after your dog as to not damage the rare habitats at this special nature reserve.

Tip by

10.9 km

Velvet Bottom Nature Reserve

Highlight • Natural

Velvet Bottom is part of the wider Cheddar Complex Sites of Special Scientific Interest which is a network of nature reserves on the Mendip Hills. Each reserve has its own unique character and wildlife. All of the nature reserves are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, which provide protection to the plants and animals found there.

This nature reserve lies on the floor of a dry river valley and is long and narrow in shape. Most of the reserve can be seen from the main path. The 42-acre (17 ha) reserve is mostly rough grassland with small areas of woodland and scrub. The reserve has a long history of lead mining and there is still much evidence to be found of the site’s industrial heritage. Velvet Bottom has been managed by Somerset Wildlife Trust since 1975 and was purchased from the former owners, Bristol Water, in 1998.

Please clean up after your dog on sites on the Mendip Hills AONB to help protect the wildlife and stop grasslands becoming polluted.

Tip by

11.7 km

Velvet Bottom Nature Reserve

Nature Reserve

13.0 km

Black Rock Limestone Outcrop

Highlight • Natural

Black Rock is a limestone outcrop above Cheddar Gorge. There are a few climbing routes here and old lime kilns. This area is owned and managed by the National Trust and part of a nature reserve.

Tip by

13.6 km

Black Rock Steep Rocky Path

Highlight (Segment) • Natural

This might not be so nice, depending on how confident/sure-footed you are, how much it’s rained, or whether you’re going down rather than up!

Tip by

15.1 km

View of Cheddar Gorge and Cheddar Reservoir

Highlight • Natural Monument

At almost 400 feet (122 m) deep and 3 miles (5 km) long, this is England’s largest gorge and, with its weathered crags and pinnacles, one of our most spectacular natural sites. It plays host to a varied community of specialised plants and wildlife. It has been named the ‘finest example of a limestone gorge in Britain’ by the British Geological Survey. It is one of the special qualities of the Mendip Hills Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Cheddar Gorge is Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for wildlife and geology, a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) with five sites of national archaeological importance designated within the Gorge.

Tip by

15.1 km

Feral Goats of Cheddar Gorge

Highlight • Natural

If you like goats there are lots here

Tip by

21.0 km

Archaeological Site

21.8 km

Rowberrow Warren

Highlight • Trail

This tranquil woodland is criss-crossed with hiking and mountain biking trails throughout its hilly landscape. Managed by the Forestry Commission, Rowberrow Warren is a thriving forest and alive with birdsong and wildlife. Vast, you could happily spend a couple of hours exploring the paths here and the Mendip Way traverses the southern section of it.

Tip by

24.2 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

11.9 km

3.89 km

3.84 km

3.21 km

1.35 km

< 100 m

Surfaces

9.87 km

4.60 km

4.27 km

3.42 km

1.83 km

246 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (320 m)

Lowest point (20 m)

Weather

Saturday 11 July

30°C

15°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 27.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

Want to know more?

Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Edit route

Download GPX

Move start point

Embed on a website

Report an Issue

Report restricted access

Nearby routes

Easy

4.8

2,873

Cheddar Gorge loop from Cheddar

01:53h

5.77km

260m

Easy

4.8

728

Brean Down loop — English Coast Path

01:14h

4.33km

100m

Moderate

4.7

479

Wavering Down & Crook Peak loop from Winscombe Hill — Mendip Hills

02:47h

9.58km

260m

Moderate

4.8

553

Glastonbury Tor loop from Glastonbury Abbey

01:21h

4.78km

100m

Easy

4.6

262

Chew Valley Lake, Knowle Hill & Chew Magna loop — Mendip Hills

01:52h

7.04km

70m

Easy

4.5

486

Wapping Wharf & SS Great Britain loop from Bristol Temple Meads

01:49h

7.12km

20m

Moderate

4.7

200

Beacon Batch & Dolebury Warren loop from Burrington Combe

03:22h

11.6km

300m

Easy

4.5

269

Frome Valley Walkway: Oldbury Court Loop

01:28h

5.64km

30m

Moderate

4.6

171

Cheddar Gorge & Beacon Batch loop from Burrington Ham — Mendip Hills

04:22h

14.5km

450m

Moderate

3.8

186

Blagdon Lake loop from Blagdon Village — Mendip Hills

02:19h

8.80km

70m

Moderate

4.7

102

Goblin Combe & Wrington loop from Cleeve

02:58h

10.2km

260m

Easy

4.6

206

Ebbor Gorge loop from Deerleap

00:50h

2.59km

110m

Beacon Batch summit trig point – Velvet Bottom Nature Reserve loop from Shipham

Beacon Batch summit trig point

Blackmoor Nature Reserve

Velvet Bottom Nature Reserve

Black Rock Limestone Outcrop

Black Rock Steep Rocky Path

View of Cheddar Gorge and Cheddar Reservoir

Feral Goats of Cheddar Gorge

Rowberrow Warren

Nearby routes

Sign up or log in to keep exploring this route

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️