{"id":32018,"date":"2026-05-09T05:33:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T05:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/32018\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T05:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T05:33:12","slug":"somerset-woodland-with-a-different-flavour-of-magic-among-britains-most-enchanting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/32018\/","title":{"rendered":"Somerset woodland with a ‘different flavour of magic’ among Britain’s most enchanting"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Somerset woodland, which has a “different flavour of magic” every time you visit, has been named among Britain’s most enchanting.<\/p>\n

Horner Wood was featured alongside nine other locations in an article from The Telegraph.<\/p>\n

The list featured one recommendation from 10 different writers at the publication.<\/p>\n

Discussing the list, it wrote: “The fragrance of flowers and the murmur of birdsong, sunshine filtering down through the canopy… few things can beat an afternoon spent wandering through a British wood, especially at this time of year, when the bluebells are flourishing.”<\/p>\n

The full list of Britain’s most enchanting woodlands can be found on The Telegraph<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why is Horner Wood among Britain’s most enchanting woodlands?<\/p>\n

Travel writer Paul Bloomfield went to bat for Horner Wood, detailing his experience of first visiting it one September morning.<\/p>\n

After staying the night in Porlock and seeing the mist that had enveloped the village, he set out for the woodland.<\/p>\n

He described how the “nascent sun illuminated a lost world” with Horner Wood being one of Britain\u2019s largest ancient oak woodlands.<\/p>\n

It spans 800 acres and is “populated by venerable trees at least 500 years old”.<\/p>\n

Bloomfield added: “Silvery beams caught lingering tendrils of mist.<\/p>\n

“A dipper hopped between rocks, foraging in the stream that babbles through the wood\u2019s shady depths.<\/p>\n

“And was that the roar of a red deer stag?<\/p>\n

Horner Wood has plenty of veteran trees and wildlife to see (Image: Nigel J Mundy\/Camera Club)<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve since returned in every season, each yielding a different flavour of magic: spring bluebells, summer nightjars and wood warblers, frosty winter rambles through rustling banks of russet leaves.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s never less than bewitching.”<\/p>\n

What can you find in Horner Wood?<\/p>\n

Horner Wood is a National Trust site that is part of Exmoor, with it being close to the village of Porlock.<\/p>\n

The conservation charity<\/a> says it is a part of a National Nature Reserve and one of the largest \u201cunenclosed\u201d ancient oak woodlands in Britain.<\/p>\n

It adds: “In this extensive ancient wood pasture, you will see ancient oak pollards, an impressive oak tree over 500 years old as well as a variety of wildlife which make their home amongst these magnificent trees.”<\/p>\n

The oak tree that is over 500 years old is called ‘The General’ and most of the woodland is “rich in history”.<\/p>\n

You can also spot a 17th-century packhorse bridge and a Tudor iron-smelting site hidden amongst the trees.<\/p>\n

Recommended reading:<\/p>\n

Wildlife that can be spotted here includes red deer, while pied flycatchers and wood warblers visit in the summer.<\/p>\n

In autumn at dusk, you can spot several species of bats flying around the woods.<\/p>\n

Alongside all of that, there are many opportunities for walking and cycling along the paths of the woodland.<\/p>\n

Have you visited Horner Wood, and what did you think? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Somerset woodland, which has a “different flavour of magic” every time you visit, has been named among…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[13,13904,13902,13905,13903],"class_list":["post-32018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-britain","tag-britain","tag-enchanting","tag-horner-wood","tag-paul-bloomfield","tag-wood-warblers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116542990079722109","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}