Burrington: Karst Landscape, Caves and History

For a trip to Burrington, you can explore the landscape, geology, nature and history as distinct themes. Burrington Combe represents the karst landscape south of the village; the caves offer geological and archaeological perspectives, while the Church of Holy Trinity and Burrington Camp are associated with architectural history and historic structures. You can organise these themes for your stay around the landscape, caves or architectural history.

Landscape, Geology and Nature

Burrington Combe is a dry karst gorge immediately south of the village of Burrington. The Combe offers a well-exposed and easily accessible section through the Mendips’ Carboniferous limestone sequence, where an almost complete succession is exposed. For those interested in geology, both the shape of the gorge and the rock structure are central. The Burrington Oolite forms the distinctive rocky outcrop known as the Rock of Ages.

The steep slopes of Burrington Combe support species-rich limestone grassland with numerous plants that favour calcareous soils. The warm, south-facing valley slopes are particularly important for butterflies and other invertebrates. Burrington Combe and Ham to its north are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for their wildlife habitats.

Activities and Caves

Black Down & Burrington Ham is described as an excellent area for walking, cycling and horse riding. This gives you a practical choice of how to get around when planning your trip: on foot, by bike or on horseback.

Goatchurch Cavern is an abandoned former stream sink that forms a complex, three-dimensional phreatic cave maze. A stream sink is a place where a stream disappears underground; the term here refers to its former function. For caving activities, the meeting point is at the free car park at Goatchurch Cavern, directly off the B3134 (The Combe).

Archaeology and Architectural History

Aveline’s Hole is particularly significant because artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic and hominin material found there indicate that the cave is among the earliest caves in the country with multiple burials. The direct comparison is between the three-dimensional cave formation at Goatchurch Cavern and the archaeological finds and evidence of early multiple burials at Aveline’s Hole.

The Church of Holy Trinity dates from the 15th century and was restored in 1884. Its two-storey west tower has diagonal buttresses, a polygonal stair turret and a crenellated parapet with cross-shaped loopholes. Polygonal means having several sides; the 1884 restoration marks a later stage in the building’s history.

Burrington Camp is a lightly fortified, univallate hillfort on Burrington Ham, with views over Burrington Combe. Univallate means that the structure has one rampart; this clearly distinguishes its form of fortification from the view over the gorge. An apocryphal story tells that Reverend Augustus Toplady took shelter at the Rock of Ages during a storm; the story is associated with the hymn of the same name. The rocky outcrop thus links a geological name with a local storytelling tradition.

Discover more destinations: Nailsea, Clevedon, Portishead, Loxton, Winscombe, Dundry, Yatton, Churchill

For the broader travel overview: North Somerset.