Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill facts for kids
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
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| Area of Search | Somerset |
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| Grid reference | to |
| Coordinates | 51°17′43″N 2°52′53″W / 51.2952°N 2.8814°W |
| Interest | Biological and Geological |
| Area | 332.2 hectares (3.322 km2; 1.283 sq mi) |
| Notification | 1952 |
Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill is a special natural area in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. It covers about 332 hectares (that's like 820 football fields!). This area is important for both its unique geology (rocks and landforms) and its amazing wildlife. It includes several hills like Crook Peak, Compton Hill, Wavering Down, Cross Plain and Shute Shelve Hill. Most of this beautiful land is looked after by the National Trust, a charity that protects special places. It became a protected site in 1952 because of its rare plants and interesting caves.
Contents
Exploring the Hills
This special area stretches for about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from west to east. Near its eastern end, a gap divides the hills. This gap is used by the A38 road and an old, unused railway line called the Cheddar Valley Line.
Crook Peak
At the western end of the hills, close to the M5 motorway, you'll find Crook Peak. It stands tall at 191 meters (627 feet) and looks amazing from all around. People have lived near Crook Peak for a very long time, as shown by old flint tools found there. This peak was even used as a beacon to light fires during the time of the Spanish Armada to warn people of danger. A ridge to the south-east of Crook Peak, called 'The Razor', is a popular spot for flying model aircraft when the wind is right.
Other Hills and Landmarks
Compton Hill is located above the village of Compton Bishop. Also in this area is Wavering Down, which reaches a height of 210 meters (689 feet). You can find a special marker called a triangulation station at its top. Near the small village of Cross is Wavering Down House. This house was once the home of the famous British comedian Frankie Howerd. Today, the house is a tourist attraction. In the summer, it hosts concerts and opens as a museum to show Howerd's collection of memorabilia, helping to raise money for charities. Above the village itself is Cross Plain, where you can still see old earthworks from ancient enclosures. Further east is Shute Shelve Hill, which is east of the A38 road. It reaches a height of 233 meters (764 feet) and overlooks the town of Axbridge.
Paths and Tunnels
A long walking path called the Mendip Way follows much of the northern edge of this special area. There's also a 165-meter (541-foot) long tunnel that was once part of the Cheddar Valley railway line. Now, it's used by people walking and cycling. The middle of the tunnel has a paved surface, but it's not lit except for small guide lamps in the center. The northern half of the tunnel is lined with bricks, but about halfway through, it changes to unlined rock. This change shows how the rocks underground are different, from sandstone to limestone.
What's in a Name?
The name "Crook Peak" has been important for a long time as a landmark and a boundary. The word 'Crook' likely comes from an old English word 'Cruc', which means 'peak' or 'pointed hill'. 'Shute' is a shorter version of schute, which meant 'slope' in the Middle Ages.
Amazing Nature
The nature in this area is very diverse! You can find ancient and newer broadleaved woodlands. However, most of the land is made up of special calcareous grassland (grasslands growing on chalky soil) and acidic dry dwarf-shrub heath. Some of these plant communities are rare in Britain.
This area is home to many interesting plants. Four of them are considered nationally rare, and seven others are notable. Look out for the nationally rare Cheddar pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus), bedstraw (Galium fleurotii), dwarf sedge (Carex humilis), and dwarf mouse-ear (Cerastium pumilum). Rose Wood and King's Wood are very old woodlands. King's Wood has coppiced hazel trees and important small leaved lime trees. The nationally rare purple gromwell (Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum) grows in Rose Wood.
Ancient Rocks and Caves
Shute Shelve Hill's Geology
Shute Shelve Hill is made of Carboniferous Limestone. This rock formed about 350 million years ago during a period called the Dinantian. The hill is shaped like an anticline, which means the rock layers fold upwards like an arch. You can see Black Rock Limestone in several places, but it's often covered by another type of rock called Burrington Oolite.
Picken's Hole
Picken's Hole is a very important cave located at the southern end of Crook Peak. It's special because it has clear layers of deposits and animal remains that tell us about the last ice age. The cave is 8 meters (26 feet) below the plateau and 27 meters (89 feet) above the valley floor. It was named after M.J. Picken, who found teeth in the soil dug out by badgers.
Scientists have found many ancient tools and two Neanderthal teeth in the cave, dating back about 55,000 years! They've also found bones from animals that lived around 35,000 years ago, including spotted hyenas, lions, Arctic foxes, mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, horses, reindeer, susliks, and northern voles.
Shute Shelve Cavern
Shute Shelve Cavern is another natural cave system on Shute Shelve Hill. People used to mine this cave for its yellow ochre, a natural pigment, until the 1920s. This cave is a phreatic cave, meaning it formed underwater. It contains amazing speleothems (cave formations like stalactites and stalagmites) that are over 350,000 years old!
Barton Camp
Barton Camp is located on the northern slopes of Crook Peak. It is run by the Bristol Children's Help Society, which started in 1884 to help children in need. The center offers residential activity courses for young people. It has classrooms, a sports hall, an outdoor pool, a playing field, and bunkhouse accommodation.
