The Quantock Hills rise abruptly from the Vale of Taunton Deane, a ten-mile ridge of oak woodland, bracken-covered tops and red deer combes designated England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1956. The hills are at their best on a clear day: from the summit ridge above Crowcombe you can see the Bristol Channel, Exmoor, and the Mendips.
The hills are easily reached from Taunton, with the principal car parks at Crowcombe Park Gate, Triscombe Stone, and Holford. The Coleridge Way long-distance path runs through the hills' western edge, following the steps of the poets who lived here in the 1790s. Pubs in the combe villages — the Carew Arms at Crowcombe especially — make obvious lunch stops.