Taken early on a fantastically foggy day this is the start to a great walk which drops down through the woods on the Mendips until it comes out with a great view of the Bristol channel.

Dead Womans Ditch - Mendips visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Dead Womans Ditch' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Somerset.

Panorama taken on an eerily foggy day amidst the Sessile Oak trees of Dead Woman's Ditch forest in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, south west England.

Dead Woman's Ditch, a short distance from Taunton and Bridgewater, lies at the east of the Quantock Hills, which were the first place in Britain to be cited as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1956. However, it is surprising that for such an area of natural beauty popular with walkers, ramblers and bikers, far more is written about both the Iron-age history dating back to 2700BC and indeed the colourful ghostly folklore tales of Celtic battles, pirate raiders and the eponymous Dead Woman!

The ditch is said to have been part of the fortifications of Dowsborough Hill Fort, thought to have been built as early as 2700BC. There are earthworks and tumuli suggesting Bronze Age occupation of this site as a fortress or strong-hold. At an elevation of 340 meters, it offers commanding views to the Bristol Channel and across the moorlands to forewarn against invaders. The ditch is oval in shape, with a single rampart and encloses a large area of several hectares, suggesting its prominence as the major defence or shelter enclave for locals during ancient battles. Ongoing archaeological excavations continue, yet much of the history of this site includes gruesome tales up to 20thC.

Just as such a panorama fires the imagination regarding the ghost stories, this area was of great literary influence to Wordsworth and Coleridge, setting much of their writings against the evocative scenic backdrop. It features also in the writings of Leonard and Virginia Woolf and John Le Carre. This scenic area is of great interest to geologists and biologists alike. Surrounded by managed woodland with indigenous woodland planting and heathland regeneration schemes. As such, it is a rich habitat for a variety of wildlife and birds. Parts of the Quantock Hills are registered as being of SSSI status - Sites of Special Scientific Interest - for which funding and resources are often made available to local authorities to ensure their protection and preservation.