Goblin Combe

Goblin Combe
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Goblin Combe is located in Somerset
Goblin Combe
Location within Somerset
LocationNorth Somerset
Grid referenceST473652
Coordinates51°22′59″N 2°45′32″W / 51.383°N 2.759°W / 51.383; -2.759
InterestBiological
Area51.87 hectares (0.5187 km2; 0.2003 sq mi)
Notification1999 (1999)
Natural England website

Goblin Combe is a dry valley in North Somerset which stretches for approximately 3½ km from Redhill, near Bristol International Airport on the A38, through to Cleeve on the A370. The combe is located at (grid reference ST473652), and is a 52-hectare (128-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) originally notified in 1999, with 9 hectares (22 acres) being managed as a nature reserve by the Avon Wildlife Trust. The Combe runs along the southern edge of a large woodland. "Combe" is the same as the Welsh word "cwm" which means valley.

Above the valley is Cleeve Toot an Iron Age hillfort. It is a roughly oval settlement which is approximately 125 metres (410 ft) in length by 90 metres (300 ft) in breadth. Approximately 150 metres (490 ft) to the north is another, smaller settlement. They are thought to have been a satellite community of nearby Cadbury Hill[1] Pits have been found at the site indicating the presence of round houses.[2] There is a single stone rampart with a broad shallow outer ditch. There is also a prehistoric or Roman field system.[3]

Aerial view of part of Goblin Combe near Cleeve.
Part of the Goblin Combe Avon Wildlife Trust nature reserve.
  1. ^ "Cleeve Toot Settlement". Ancient Settlement in England in Somerset. Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Four enclosures on Broadfield Down, North Somerset" (PDF). North Somerset Historic Environment Record. Yatton, Congresbury, Claverham and Cleeve Archaeological Research Team (YCCCART). Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Cleeve Toot Camp". Pastscape. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2011.