From the Marlborough downs in Wiltshire the next location to explore were the Blackdown Hills that extend from Somerset into Devon in the south west of England.

Roadtrip Hotels

Was staying in a hotel for up to 3 nights to explore the Blackdown Hills. Close by is another AONB that of East Devon down to the coast. Chose Honiton as a base as located between both areas. If available in the location Premier Inn hotels are a good option around the UK. You know what you are getting and the rooms are usually quiet and very comfortable and not too expensive depending on location. If not available will look at Travelodge but had some noisy nights in these hotels. Failing that will try to find a suitable hotel on Booking.com.

Wellington Monument

To break myself into the Blackdown Hills Somerset, the first morning took a trip to the Wellington Monument on the north side of the hills. There is a free carpark nearby and a small walk from there to the Wellington Monument.

It was a beautiful sunny February morning, clear blue skies and little wind, some frost on the ground. The Wellington monument is located in the Somerset side of the Blackdowns hills. Its the highest triangular obelisk in the world.

How to photograph

Now photographing such a large structure from the ground presents some challenges. First a dominant vertical subject should be shot in portrait mode. Second to emphasise its size want to include in the frame a known subject to give a sense of scale. Would have preferred a tree and or a person than just the cannon. Third to give a sense of depth want to to shoot from the side including two sides of the triangular subject. Some of the better photos have seen online shot of the Wellington Monument were with a drone.

Staple Hill

Being on the northern side of the blackdown hills in Somerset visited a few more locations not far away. Staple hill is the highest point on the Blackdown hills. There is a free carpark at Staple hill and the viewpoint is a small walk. Not all viewpoints make good photographs. Pleasant but no obvious compositions. In the distance you can see the Quantock hills in Somerset that I visited October 2021. Again, putting up a drone in these locations could be a lot better. Had a drone in the backpack but not thinking to use it.

Further down Staple hill there were some half decent compositions within the woodland and at its edge in a nature reserve. In the background is Taunton which after my scout I went into for some breakfast.

Castle Neroche

Castle Neroche is another one of those ancient hillforts also along the northern escarpment of the Blackdown hills still in the county of Somerset. Free carpark at Castle Neroche and and a small walk to the ramparts of the hillfort.

Again nothing great in the way of landscape photo compositions. When the views are restricted by trees and woodland time to put up the drone and get a birds eye view of the hillfort and surrounding area.

Culmstock Beacon

One other area of interest on the Somerset side of the Blackdown hills is Culmstock beacon. After the morning scout and then spending some time in Taunton returned to Culmstock Beacon. No obvious parking places nearby though and decided to give it a miss. Regret that decision now but was tired and its a steep climb. Also by the afternoon some cloud had moved in so the light had gone. Potentially though, Culmstock beacon could have had the better viewpoints and compositions with an obvious focal point.

Blackdown Hills Compositions

That wraps up the Somerset side of the Blackdown Hills that you can easily visit the most prominent locations within a single day. My initial impressions of the Blackdown hills was that was very peaceful and tranquil but not the best compositions for landscape photography. But not over yet, had the Devon side to explore.

Check out the Somerset Landscape Photography Gallery

Check out the Somerset Landscape Locations Map