Plan your trip

walk here

Turn to Walk 2 in this issue for a route around Ham Wall RSPB. This site is flat and very accessible so it’s great for families with children. It’s good to visit at any time of the year but it’s best known for its starling murmurations in winter, bitterns booming from early spring and migrants arriving and departing through the year.

GettinG here

It’s easiest to get here by car (parking free for RSPB members).

The FirstBus Service 375/376 links Glastonbury, Street and Wells with Bristol, Yeovil and Bridgwater. From Glastonbury the local service no.662 passes through Mear, just over a mile away.

where to stay

hill View Farm (01934 712123, www.hillviewfarm.co.uk) is run by a Somerset farming family and located close to local nature reserves so it’s popular with walkers and birdwatchers. Just north of Wedmore, it has three en-suite rooms and a guest lounge with a woodburner – perfect after cold days wildlife spotting. Double rooms from £70 pn including a full farmhouse breakfast. Lots of options in nearby Glastonbury too.

where to eat

The Sheppey (01458 831594, www.thesheppey.co.uk) is a fantastic pub with real ale, great food and regular live music. Just a few miles from Ham Wall reserve it’s definitely worth booking a table for your post-walk pint and a menu that includes spiced chickpea burger with baba ganoush (£13.50) and Sheppey fish stew (£15). Also offers accommodation.

more information

If you want to work on your bird watching skills, Stephen runs birding holidays in Somerset. Find out more at www. somersetbirdwatchingholidays.com. See also www.visitsomerset.co.uk and www.rspb.org.uk/Ham_Wall, or call Glastonbury TIc on 01458 832954.