page_title: Blackdown Hills
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Blackdown Hills / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Old stone bridge with pedestrian refuges over River Culm at Culmstock, Devon.
context_page_description: The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1991.
  The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand with some remnants of chalk, and is cut through by river valleys. The hills support an extensive range of wildlife leading to the designation of 16 Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
  There is evidence of human occupation since the Iron Age. Fortifications include the remains of ancient hill forts, Norman motte-and-bailey castles and Second World War airfields. There are also religious buildings such as Dunkeswell Abbey and village churches. The hills are crossed by a network of minor roads with major transport routes including the M5 motorway running around the periphery.
context_section_description: Straddling the border of Somerset and Devon, the Blackdown Hills AONB covers an area of 370 square kilometres (143 sq mi). The hills reach their highest point of 315 metres (1,033 ft) above sea level at Staple Hill in Somerset. The hills in the southern part of the area, near Honiton in Devon, are more gentle. The Blackdown Hills are a sparsely populated area; much of the land is used for dairy farming.
  The River Culm rises at a spring (grid reference ST2205016050) near Culmhead and flows west through Hemyock, then Culmstock to Uffculme before joining the River Exe on the north-western outskirts of Exeter. The name of the river is thought to mean 'knot' or 'tie', in reference to the river's twists and loops; or is derived from a Celtic river-name meaning winding stream. The River Otter rises near Otterford, where a stream feeds the Otterhead lakes: (ST225152). It then flows south for 32 kilometres (20 mi) through East Devon to the English Channel at the western end of Lyme Bay. The Permian and Triassic sandstone aquifer in the Otter Valley is one of Devon's largest groundwater sources, supplying drinking water to Taunton. The other rivers are the River Yarty and the Corry Brook.
  Villages in the northern, Somerset part of the hills include Staple Fitzpaine, Buckland St Mary, Whitestaunton, Wambrook and Churchstanton. The larger, more southerly area in Devon includes Dunkeswell, Upottery, Smeatharpe, Hemyock, Blackborough, Yarcombe, Membury, Stockland, Sheldon, Cotleigh and Chardstock.
caption: Old stone bridge with pedestrian refuges over River Culm at Culmstock
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