Learning Enquiry:
What is remarkable about Winsford Hill?
Linked to Winsford Hill and the Barle Valley in Exmoor
National Park
This document is one of many free web-based resources produced as part of the
Moorland Classroom project. To explore the whole resource, including maps, video
content and ‘how to’ guides please visit:
http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/moorland-classroom
Learning Aims
Pupils will be supported in and outside of the classroom to:

Recognise, describe and explain the moorland and heathland landscape of
Exmoor and develop a sense of how and why it has changed in the past, how
it might be changing now and how it might change in the future.

Identify, describe and explain some of the ways in which the last Ice Age
impacted upon the environment of Exmoor and in particular how and why it is
believed that an ice cap formed on Winsford Hill about 18,000 years ago.

Understand the significance of farming in the landscape and economy of
Exmoor and appreciate how and why farms are diversifying their activities.

Understand and explain some of the ways in which the moorland and
heathland environment of Exmoor is managed and restored to maintain its
distinctive character and richness as a unique ecosystem for future
generations.

Gain an understanding of the chronology of Exmoor and in particular the
historic environment together with some cultural aspects of life associated
with the Bronze Age period.

Make links and associations between the patterns of their own lives and those
of the people of Bronze Age communities.

Appreciate that archaeology and historical interpretation of the past is not an
exact science, archaeologists have developed the skills to infer things from
the evidence that remains, allowing us to empathise with our ancestors.

See that the National Park seeks to enable people to enjoy the splendour of
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the environment whilst also seeking to conserve and improve that
environment for future generations – and that sometimes these aims can be
contradictory

Recognise, describe and explain elements of the biodiversity of Exmoor and
in particular the red deer (England’s largest mammal and a constant presence
on Exmoor for at least 7,500 years), and the uniquely adapted Exmoor pony
(Britain’s oldest race of pony and a direct descendent of the first horses to
arrive in Britain approximately 130,000 years ago).

Collect and interpret a range of primary fieldwork data through practical
fieldwork which enhances their understanding of the flora and fauna of
Exmoor, approaches to management and restoration and also enables them
to gain a sense of the wildness and remoteness of the Exmoor landscape.

Apply a range of cross–curricular subject knowledge and skills to the
achievement of all of the above
Learning and teaching activities and curriculum progression
1. Introducing Winsford Hill
Divide the pupils into pairs and provide each pair with Winsford-1-Map: O.S.
Map extract of Winsford Hill and the River Barle Valley. Ask them to locate
Winsford Hill and Triangulation Pillar (Trig Point) which is situated on top of it.
Now give them Winsford-2-Pillar: Winsford Hill Triangulation Pillar and
Dunkery Beacon. Tell them that the hill they see in the background of the
photograph is Dunkery Beacon about 8km away (so not on the map). The
photograph was taken looking North East. Now challenge the pupils to work
out the following: if they travel in a straight line in a north easterly direction
from the Trig Point on top of Winsford Hill towards Dunkery Beacon can they
name at least two things (e.g. the small river Winn Brook and the road) that
they can’t see in the photograph? Why can’t they see them in the
photograph? The answer is all to do with intervisibility – i.e. the land and how,
in between Winsford Hill and Dunkery Beacon, it drops down in height and is
therefore out of sight from the top of either hill.
In order to gain an idea of the shape of Winsford Hill the pupils can be
supported to draw a contour cross section along the road from Comer’s Gate
(Cattle Grid) 861355 to Spire Cross (cross roads) at 888335. This will require
pupils to draw a horizontal axis line of 13.5cm and two vertical axis lines of
4.5cm. Both the vertical axes should be divided into 9 equal intervals. The
vertical axes should be labelled Height in Metres. The value of the bottom
line should be 340m rising in 10m intervals to 430m. Using Winsford-1-Map,
have the pupils mark point A at Comers Gate and point B at Spires Cross and
draw a straight line joining the points. Taking the edge of a piece of paper
and a pencil and beginning at Point A mark on the edge of the paper a line
and the height of each contour line crossed en route to Point B. The height of
Comer’s Gate is 355m and then 7 contour lines (increment of 10m) are
crossed before the top of Winsford Hill is reached crossing the 420m line
twice. The road then descends through 5 more contour lines to reach the
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370m. . Below is an example of constructing a cross section with the line
between points A and B being the edge of the piece of paper.
Having marked a point and height on the edge of their piece of paper each
time they crossed a contour line the pupils can now create a cross section of
their route by laying the edge of their piece of paper along the horizontal axis
of the graph outline and then marking with a dot above the height of the
contour using the vertical scale. When all dots are marked on then they can
be joined up with one continuous line as in the example above. Finally pupils
can annotate their cross section with labelled arrows to show the position of
the following: Disused Quarry, Winsford Hill, Car Park; Crossing of Bridleway
(green dotted line); Comer’s Gate Cattle Grid; Spire Cross and Triangulation
Pillar. A second cross section can be drawn from Knaplock (call it point C) to
Withycombe Farm (Point D). Have the pupils identify The Punchbowl and
where the first cross section is crossed.
Next give out the photograph in Winsford-4-West_View. Explain to the
pupils that this photograph was taken at the Triangulation Pillar on Winsford
Hill looking due west. Using the map and photograph together (the map is
best used by being rotated by 90’ with Withypool Hill now at the top. Can the
pupils name the hill in the photograph (Withypool Hill) and the wood that can
be seen below the hill in the photograph (Hayes Wood). What is the
difference in height between Winsford Hill and Withypool Hill? (28m) What is
the name of the footpath that runs along the bottom of the hill in the
photograph? (Exe Valley Way).
Winsford-5-NorthEast_View is a photograph taken from 883343 looking in a
north westerly direction.
Support the pupils to find this location and to
orientate the map so that they are looking in the correct direction. Ask them
to see if they can name the white farm buildings in the photograph
(Withycombe Farm); the name of the small river running through the farm
(Winn Brook); the name of the hill in the top right hand corner of the
photograph (Bye Hill) and its height (339m).
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2. The Punchbowl
A unique feature of Winsford Hill is The Punchbowl which can be found in
Grid Square 8834. It is identifiable by the ‘C’ shape of the contour lines which
are very close together. Encourage the pupils to look carefully at the map.
Tell them in a few minutes you are going to show them a number of
photographs of The Punchbowl but before that you want them to draw a
sketch of what they think it looks like as if they were standing looking down
into it. The important thing here is for the pupils to see it has very steep sides
shown by the contour lines very close together and that it has a semi-circular
shape and is deep falling by 160m in less than a km. Ask the pupils to show
their sketches to the rest of the group. Are they similar? Now distribute or
project the photographs in Winsford-6-Punchbowl. Get the pupils to
describe what the punchbowl looks like in reality. What things were they
expecting to see and what things have come as a surprise? The last Ice Age
(known as the Pleistocene epoch) to affect northern Europe began 2.6 million
years ago and ended about 12,000 years ago. It was at its most extreme
when the climate was most severe just 18,000 years ago. During this time
glaciers formed in armchair shaped hollows in the mountains known as
corries when snow piled up in very thick layers. There are very many good
examples of corries in the mountains of Wales and Scotland in which glaciers
formed (Winsford-7-Corries). As the snow continued to build up on the
surface the lower layers of snow in the corrie were compacted into ice (see
Winsford-8-Glaciers and Winsford-9-Glacier_Formation). Under enormous
weight from above the ice below began to slip forward out of the corries down
to the lower land below. These rivers of ice known as glaciers combined to
form huge ice caps which covered the surrounding land to a thickness of
several miles in some places. Until recently it was accepted that there were
no corries in southern England and that ice caps in Britain did not form in
South West England in places such as Exmoor as shown by Blue areas on
the map in Winsford-10-Ice_Map. However, a number of geographers now
believe that the so called punchbowl at Winsford Hill on Exmoor was in fact a
corrie where a small glacier and ice cap formed which would have covered
the hill and surrounding land about 18,000 years ago. Then the landscape
would have looked very much like parts of Greenland today as in Winsford11-Greenland. During the Ice Age a whole range of wildlife would have been
living on and around Winsford Hill including Woolly Mammoths, Aurochs; Irish
Elk; Lemmings; Giant Ground Sloths; Sabre-Toothed Tigers; Musk Ox;
Woolly Rhinoceros and Cave Lions. Set the pupils the task of researching
each of these animals. Which ones are still alive today and which have
become extinct? As an output to this work the pupils can be supported to
produce an A3 poster entitled: During the Ice Age on Winsford Hill. They
must show what the landscape would have been like and also the animals
which would have been living in and around the hill then. Each animal needs
to be annotated with labels showing its name and also at least one way in
which it would have been adapted to living in such extreme conditions.
3. Diversification in the Rural Economy
Winsford-12-Great_Ash is a photograph of Great Ash Farm at 875354 taken
from Winsford Hill. Are there any clues in the photograph (buildings, fields
and hedgerows, land use, machinery etc.) that tells us what kind of farm it is?
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Is there any sign of crops being grown in the fields e.g. ploughed land? What
is growing in the fields (grass or pasture for animals). Do any of the pupils
pick out the black plastic covered bales of hay for feeding the animals during
the winter? The main business of Great Ash Farm is the rearing of sheep (for
wool and lamb and mutton) and bullocks (young male cows) for beef – see
Winsford-13-Livestock. However, this farm also has another important
source of income. Can the pupils work out what it is from the set of
photographs in Winsford-14-Diversification? These photographs show
pheasant chick rearing pens and feeding areas for mature pheasants within
fields of wheat and maize (corn) which are planted out deliberately not to be
harvested but to remain, dying back in the fields well into the autumn and
winter in order to provide cover (protection for hiding away) for pheasants.
The farm will then organise a shoot on several days during the autumn and
winter when people will pay a lot of money to come for the day and shoot the
pheasants. The farmer will organise beaters to drive the birds towards the
guns so that they are flying in the sky so as to provide most challenge for the
guns. Winsford-15-Shoot is the home page of the website of one shoot
organiser: Roxtons Shoots – who run a shooting estate on Exmoor. What
does it cost per person a day if you wanted to shoot with Roxtons? What’s
included in the price and what isn’t? The price paid per gun would not be all
profit of course for the farmer. What costs would the farmer have to meet
during the year leading up to the shooting season which runs from October 1 st
to February 1st – think about the cost of employing keepers, growing cover,
fencing to keep the young birds from wandering; feed etc.?
4. Barrows on Winsford Hill
Draw the pupil’s attention back to the O.S map extract Winsford-1-Map and
in particular to Grid Square 8734. What can be found close to the
Triangulation Pillar? A tumulus on one side and Wambarrows on the other.
Explain that there are three Bronze Age barrows here situated in an east –
west line close to the summit of Winsford Hill. Collectively the three are
known as Wambarrows and date from about 1500 BC, so about 3,500 years
ago. Give out Winsford-16-Wambarrows which shows photographs of the
barrow closest to the Triangulation Pillar. The Bronze Age on Exmoor is
associated with the building of barrows and the construction of stone settings.
Barrows are round mounds where the dead were buried or their ashes placed
after cremation. Barrows were considered to have been sacred places
associated with rituals and practices, making them an active part of the
landscape rather than ‘cemeteries’ used only for burial purposes.
The Bronze Age signifies the appearance of bronze to make items such as
axe heads, daggers and decorative torcs, brooches and beads. There are
also distinctive pottery types associated with the Bronze Age and on Exmoor
the pottery discovered is of the Trevisker Ware type and includes urns,
beakers and pots. So what did the Wambarrows look like? Why might they
have been important to the people? Take time to discuss ideas with the
pupils and summarise key points.
It’s important to emphasise that
Wambarrows would have been mounds on the horizon where bodies of
members of the community or their ashes after cremation were buried when
they died. There is not much to be seen of the mounds which formed
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Wambarrows today. The barrow in Winsford-16-Wambarrows would have
been approximately 24m in diameter and probably 3-4m high. So what does it
look like today – it’s centre has been dug out. Why do pupils think that this
was done? Explain that when people were buried in the barrow they would
have been laid to rest with artefacts or objects made by human beings. Some
of these might have been of great beauty or value e.g. necklaces, brooches,
figurines and pottery. Many barrows on Exmoor have been excavated and
robbed of anything of value and that’s why the barrow in the photograph has
a high rim and a deep centre.
An interesting exercise to follow this is to ask the pupils to choose ten
artefacts that they would select to be buried with them in a barrow for
archaeologists to excavate in 4,000 years or so time. First of all ask the
pupils to think of all the things they would want to be buried with from their
lives today. For the sake of argument we can assume that everything will
remain preserved for 4,000 years even if it is paper or cloth. Give the pupils
plenty of time to think this through and to come to a considered answer. After
they have chosen ten things individually ask the pupils to tell everyone else
what they have chosen and why. Start preparing a list of things in common
that the pupils have selected – what things are practical, beautiful,
sentimental etc. Take time to discuss with pupils what all the artefacts they
have chosen will tell people in 4,000 years’ time about their lives today. Are
all the things material products or more personal things such as photographs?
With this exercise it is common for pupils to reflect about their choices as they
make them and discuss what others are thinking and then to change their
preferences so it is important to allow enough time to enable this to happen.
Finally and as a summative piece, ask the pupils to write in journalistic style,
the front page of Western Daily News for a date in the year 6012 announcing
the amazing discovery of your burial barrow and describing the amazing
things that have been found with your remains. Before doing this it is
important to model the outcome required and the conventions of writing in a
journalistic style i.e.:
a. Short, sharp and snappy headline which is large and bold
b. A sub headline which is underneath the headline and tells some more
about the story in equally dramatic language
c. A graphic photograph to draw the reader’s attention
d. A very short first paragraph which summarises the whole story and
encourages the reader to read on - usually by finishing with continued
on page 2 or see more amazing photographs on pages 7 and 8
e. The story is then written in short paragraphs with short sentences in
chronological order
f. A final concluding paragraph sums up the whole story which may also
give the personal view of the author or of the editor/owner of the
newspaper
The environment of Winsford Hill is very special. It is called moorland. This is
the name given to higher and uncultivated land which contrasts sharply with
the cultivated fields with sheep and cattle below on lower land on Exmoor.
Give out Winsford-17-Moorland and ask the pupils to compare the moorland
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(mostly the brown coloured areas in the foreground and background) and
cultivated farm land (mostly green fields). What are the main differences?
Support the pupils to draw an outline or to trace the outline of the different
areas of the photograph onto a separate piece of paper. They then need to
annotate with labels the three main parts of the photograph and their outlines
i.e. in the foreground Moorland on Winsford Hill, at the centre Farmland of
fields and on the horizon Moorland of Dunkery Beacon. Moorland contains a
number of different shrubby plants that grow together to create a unique and
rich habitat for wildlife. Much of Winsford Hill is covered with common
heather (Calluna), bilberry (whortleberry), gorse and bracken with some bell
heather also. Distribute Winsford-18-Plants: Moorland plants of Winsford
Hill. How many can the pupils’ name? What others can they work out? The
correct order is common heather without flowers, bell heather with flowers;
bilberry without berries, bracken, gorse, bilberry with berries and common
heather with flowers.
5. Exmoor Ponies
The Anchor herd of between 50-60 ponies that roams across Winsford Hill
(Winsford-19-Herd) is owned by Mr and Mrs Wallace and is the purest bred
of all the Exmoor pony herds. In 1818 the Crown sold the Royal Forest of
Exmoor to industrialist John Knight who let it be known that he intended to
“improve” the ponies of Exmoor by cross breeding them with other ponies
outside of Exmoor. To conserve the pure bred Exmoor ponies for the future,
Sir Thomas Acland, took 30 of the ponies and founded the Acland herd (now
known as the Anchor herd) running on Winsford Hill. John Knight's attempts
to "improve" the ponies through crossing had temporary success but his herd
dwindled and died out. The outbreak of the Second World War brought
disaster. As food shortages developed, the majority of the herd were stolen
one night. They were traced as far as Cumbria and presumably were
slaughtered to provide meat on the black market. Only about a dozen ponies
escaped this fate and Frank Green hid them away on Old Ashway Farm until
the war ended. About 1950, Simon Lycett-Green bought Old Ashway Farm
from Frank, his great uncle. He and his daughter, who became Mrs. Rosie
Wallace, returned the registered ponies, a stallion and twelve mares, to
Winsford
Hill.
The
work
of
rebuilding
the
herd
began.
When Rosie Wallace died in 2005, the herd passed to her son David, who
manages the herd today, with his wife Emma. All Exmoor ponies must have
an individual passport (Winsford-20-Passport) in the same way that people
in Britain must have passports if they intend to travel outside of the country.
Show the pupils a British passport and spend time discussing with the pupils
what is contained within it. Then consider what a passport for an Exmoor
pony might show? Make a list on the board of all the things that might be
included within it e.g. place of birth, parent’s names, herd number; owner’s
name; height and weight; identification marks; various photographs from
different angles; pages for travel stamps etc. When the list is as full as
possible the pupils can check the Moorland Mousie Trust website at
www.moorlandmousietrust.org.uk to see if there is anything they have
missed. Then the pupils can design a passport for a Winsford Hill pony with a
name of their choice making sure they include in a creative but easy to read
manner all of the information required.
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Winsford and the Barle Valley on location: - fieldwork opportunities to support
Winsford Learning Enquiry
Equipment Checklist
In addition to the usual materials for writing and drawing, the following
specialist equipment is required to support the fieldwork activities:


Fieldwork Activity 3 – A metre square quadrat – can be bought,
made or improvised using pegs and a four metre length of string
plus Winsford-22-Vegetation to record results
Fieldwork Activity 8 – Digital cameras or smart phones (optional),
magnifying glasses
Winsford Hill is very accessible by coach and the place to park up is at the
lay-bye adjacent to the Triangulation Pillar at 877343. The activities at
Winsford Hill will take about an hour or so and then there is a choice as to
whether to walk down to and along the River Barle valley to Tarr Steps via
Great Bradley and Oakbeer Wood (option 1), meeting the coach at the end of
the walk at the car park at 874323, or to drive down with the coach to this car
park and then follow the circular woodland walk which begins and ends at
Tarr Steps (option 2).
In poor weather and visibility care is needed to avoid getting lost on the top of
Winsford Hill as there are many tracks. In poor weather option 1 route (see
page 12onwards for details) can be intersected at GR 861 354 with a short
walk in from the cattle grid at the western end of Winsford Hill. Alternatively
option 2 route is much easier.
Directions: Winsford Hill is on the B3223 midway between Dulverton and
Exford. The road through Dulverton is unsuitable for large coaches and the
easiest approach is from the North using the B3224 (from Wheddon Cross to
the East or Simonsbath to the West). The turning for the B3223 is just a mile
to the west of Exford. The coach parking spot is a lay-by at the top of
Winsford Hill on the left if approaching from the North, adjacent to the
Triangulation Pillar at 877343. For minibuses there is an additional parking
area on the left 100 metres further on.
The second parking spot is at the
main Tarr Steps car park at 874323. This accessed down a narrow road from
the B3223 (signposted Tarr Steps) about 3km further on from the initial
parking spot. There are toilet facilities at the car park.
Winsford Hill
Fieldwork Activity 1 – Understanding Wambarrows
The first thing that the pupils will encounter at Winsford Hill is the Bronze Age
barrow next to the Triangulation Pillar (Winsford-16-Wambarrows). Whilst
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at the barrow ask the pupils to stand around the perimeter and estimate its
diameter by pacing out the distance.
Also approximately how high is the
barrow today? Given the diameter and present day height they have
estimated how high do they think it might have been when constructed? Ask
the children to look in at the centre of the barrow. Here an irregular pit has
been dug about 8m across and 0.7m deep. Why do they think this was dug?
The answer could be that it was dug by robbers. What would they have been
hoping to find? From the barrow encourage the pupils to look around 360’.
From how far away would Alderman’s Barrow have been seen? Dunkery
Beacon is approximately 8km away (Winsford-2-Pillar) to the NE and
Withypool Hill 4km to the west (Winsford-4-West_View) and Old Barrow
Down 3km to the SW. Is it in a prominent position? Why might that be?
Explain to the pupils that the barrow was not just a grave for bodies and
ashes of the dead. It was also a very important symbol to the people of the
Bronze Age living on and around Winsford Hill – their link to their ancestors
and an important place probably for rituals and celebrations. What rituals and
celebrations might the Bronze age people have organised 4,000 years ago
around Alderman’s Barrow? Ask the pupils to think about what would have
been important in the lives of people then - changes in the seasons perhaps
e.g. the arrival of spring, the birth of children as well as burial rites.
Fieldwork Activity 2 – Sketching the Punchbowl
From the triangulation pillar take the path to the SE for about 300m down to
two trees on the edge of the punchbowl (Winsford-21-Trees). From this
viewpoint it is possible to appreciate the extent of the hollow in the hillside
which many now believe could have been the furthest south corrie of the last
Ice Age. Remind the pupils that 18,000 years ago in freezing temperatures of
maybe -30’C or more a river of ice known as glacier or ice cap flowed out of
this hollow and covered the surrounding land as well as the hill itself in thick
ice. Encourage them to imagine what the environment then would have
looked and felt like. If the weather is fine support the pupils to draw a sketch
from the rim of the barrow looking NE towards Dunkery Beacon of what they
think it would have been like. This is a good location also for observing the
contrast in land use between the moorland of Winsford Hill and the farms and
farmland of the surrounding lowland. Much of this lowland would have
originally been moorland also before the arrival of steam powered ploughs
during the 19th century Industrial Revolution. As a result all but the steepest
and most exposed areas of Exmoor were ploughed up or “improved” to grow
pasture for sheep and beef cattle. Today Exmoor moorland is a small island
surrounded by improved farmland and forestry. In what ways can the pupils
see the farmland areas being used? From where the pupils are standing
Withycombe Farm lies directly below them to the NE.
Fieldwork Activity 3 – Sampling Vegetation
Follow the western rim of the punchbowl. After about 400m take the first path
to the left. This flat path follows the 380m contour line below Winsford Hill.
Follow it along until you are opposite Great Ash Farm at 875355 (Winsford12-Great_Ash) which is about 500m away. From here look for sheep and
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beef cattle in the fields and also evidence of feeding enclosures and crops of
wheat and maize being grown in some fields as cover for pheasants (see
Winsford-13-Livestock, Winsford-14-Diversification and Winsford-15Shoot).
Return back along the path to the western rim of the punchbowl. Along the
way take an opportunity to study the natural vegetation of the moorland by
carrying out a number of quadrat surveys. The vegetation cover on and
either side of the path can be sampled using a meter square quadrat.
Quadrats normally consist of a square frame, the most frequently used size
being 1m2 (see picture below).
To record percentage cover of species in a quadrat, look down on the quadrat
from above and estimate the percentage cover occupied by each species and
bare soil/rock. At Winsford Hill the main species will be:
 Ling Heather (Calluna)
 Bilberry (Whortleberry)
 Gorse
 Bracken
 Bell Heather (Ling)
 Grass and Sedge
 Bare soil and/or stones and rocks
The pupils can record their findings on Winsford-22-Vegetation which also
includes images to help identification. An appropriate graphical way of
presenting the data could be through the construction of ten proportional bars.
Pupils need to draw a bar 10cm long and 2cm wide for each of the ten
locations at which they samples the vegetation i.e. beginning of path, 50m;
100m etc. The calculation of vegetation cover at each location will be
percentages adding up to 100%.
Pupils can then divide their bars
proportionately to the percentage cover they have estimated and draw a
colour key for all ten. Following this the pupils can be supported to interpret
the results of their fieldwork by considering such things as:
At which location was there most coverage of Ling/Gorse/ Bracken etc.
Which vegetation was recorded the most/least along the route?
Fieldwork Activity 4 – Oral History and Folklore
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Retrace your steps and return to Wambarrow and stand the pupils around the
rim looking outwards across the moor. Tell them that in the famous book
Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmoor there is a character called Tom Fagus.
Legend has it that the character Tom Fagus was based on a true story of a
real highwayman who held up travellers crossing Winsford Hill by horse and
coach in the 17th century.
He was also considered a “gentleman
highwayman” because he was said only to rob the rich and to give some of
his loot to the very poorest of the area. Encourage the pupils to imagine Tom
Fagus on horseback galloping across the moor towards a coach drawn by
horses travelling along the road. Tell the pupils that together they are going
to write a short story about Tom Fagus by each contributing a line to a story
but they are not going to write it but memorise it as would have happened 400
years or so ago when very few people could write. If there are 30 pupils the
story will be 30 lines long and if 50 then 50 lines long. Begin the story by
coming up with the first line e.g: It was a misty cold morning on Winsford
Hill…. The first pupil then needs to add a line of their own e.g. And the sound
of an approaching coach and horses could be heard in the distance….Before
moving on to the second pupil the story needs to begin again at the beginning
so it can be remembered with the teacher and the first pupil repeating their
lines before the second pupil adds their own. By the end of the story there
will be 30 or more pupils repeating their lines. Can they remember their line
of the story and the order it came in so that they can repeat the story in
Assembly back at school? This exercise is known as contrapuntal dialogue
and is a very effective tool in supporting pupils to be both creative and
imaginative but also to retain information through ordering and sequencing.
From Winsford Hill there is now a choice of two routes to the River Barle
Valley and Tarr Steps below to the south west:
Option 1: Walking to River Barle Valley and Tarr Steps – approximately
4.5Km or 1.45 hours
Cross the road immediately opposite the triangulation pillar and walk down
the path for about 100m until the main bridleway track is reached at 876342
(Winsford-23-Track). Turn right and walk for almost a Km before turning left
at the path crossroads at 868345 (Winsford-24-Xroad). This bridleway
opens up (Winsford-25-Wide_path) with Withypool Hill in the distance as it
descends past Great Bradley towards Oakbeer Wood (Grid Square 8534).
Keep following the signs Bridleway: River Barle/Barle Valley (Winsford-26Oakbeer) which take you into Oakbeer Wood at 856340. Continue to follow
the signs to Barle Valley/Tarr Steps as you walk alongside a small tributary
stream for about 200m crossing a bridge (Winsford-27-Bridge). Shortly after
the bridge there is an opportunity to see the stream flowing into the River
Barle (Winsford-28-Tributary). Take time to talk about tributaries flowing
into and adding their water to larger rivers. Tell the pupils to keep a running
tally of the number of tributary streams they see flowing into the Barle
between here and Tarr Steps downstream.
Fieldwork Activity 5- River Sketching
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At several points along the course of the River Barle there are opportunities to
draw an annotated sketch to show a meander with erosion occurring on the
outside of the bend where the water flow is fastest (forming a river cliff) and
deposition on the inside of the bend where the water flow is slowest (forming
a slip off slope or river beach). See Winsford-29-Meander and diagram
below.
Fieldwork Activity 6 – Coppicing
As the pupils walk beside the river many opportunities arise to stop and point
out significant things such as the shape of the trunks of many of the beech,
silver birch and oak trees. What do the pupils notice? Many trees bear the
evidence of coppicing over many hundreds of years. This was a process of
cutting the timber of the tree back to its base stump every 15-20 years. The
timber gathered in this way was used for building and for domestic and
industrial fires e.g. to provide the immense amount of heat to smelt iron ore to
create pig iron before the Industrial Revolution, when coal replaced wood as
the main energy source. After that coppicing was practised much less.
Encourage the pupils to look out for good examples of multiple trunks
appearing from one base which is always a tell-tale sign of a tree that was
once regularly coppiced but has now been left to grow to its full size e.g.
Winsford-30-Coppice. Point out that coppicing remains a very good example
of using resources such as trees in a sustainable way since the trees are not
completely felled but allowed to regenerate – so it is more like harvesting a
crop that continues to grow year on year.
At other points along the route areas of woodland have been completely
felled such as in Winsford-31-Clearing. Encourage the pupils to go and
investigate these clearings to discover what is growing now i.e. what has
naturally regenerated. They will find evidence of gorse shrubs, bracken and
heather but also many tree saplings such as silver birch. The point to
emphasise here is that moorland species are present but in a short time
succession will mean the dominance of tree species which will cause the
moorland vegetation to die out and disappear. These more open spaces
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along the river provide opportunities to involve the pupils in a number of
traditional environmental awareness activities Fieldwork Activity 7 – Awareness Activities
Sensory awareness: have the pupils sit in complete silence for several
minutes with their eyes closed just listening to the sounds of nature. What
are they hearing? Take feedback from different members of the group. Are
we all noticing the same things and what are they? In the same way have the
children sit again in silence this time concentrating on what they can smell
and discuss once more. Repeat the exercise for feel and for sight.
Nature’s scavengers: Divide the pupils into groups of six and provide each
group with an egg carton into which they need to place natural things as
directed. Give each pupil in the group two things to collect so that there are
12 in the box altogether e.g. something hard, soft, green, sharp, beautiful,
weird, smooth, rough, round, dry, wet, long, short etc. Give the groups at
least 10-15 minutes to do this and on return encourage each group to explain
to the others what they collected and why.
Nature’s pallet: give each pupil a copy of the outline of an artist’s pallet
(Winsford-32-Palette). The objective of this activity is to appreciate the
range of colours in nature by crushing small pieces of leaves, berries, bark,
soil etc. onto the different paint mixing areas of the pallet. Again it is
important that the pupils have time to present their discoveries and to explain
the origin of the different colours they have created.
Smelly cocktails: Divide the pupils into pairs and provide each with a small
plastic cup and stick for stirring. Explain to them that a cocktail is a mixture of
different drinks (non-alcoholic as well as alcoholic) and their objective is to
create a mixture in their cup (with a little water) of natural things they can find
and crush up together – shaken not stirred of course. What does the finished
drink smell like? Encourage the pupils to smell each other’s concoctions but
no drinking!
Journey sticks Legend would have it that this activity originated with the
indigenous North American Indians whilst tracking buffalo and today is a
really worthwhile thing to do with pupils on a walk of any length. Full details
are in Winsford-33-Sticks ( a pdf document which is also freely
downloadable from the Association of National Park Authorities at
www.nationalparks.gov.uk).
The walk along the River Barle is very popular with visitors which is good but
does present a challenge for Exmoor National Park. Remind pupils that
Exmoor National Park has three purposes: to conserve and protect the
natural beauty of Exmoor; to encourage and ensure people are able to visit
and enjoy the National Park and thirdly to help the local communities of
people to be socially cohesive and economically prosperous. Sometimes
these objectives can conflict with each other. For example, the River Barle
Valley is naturally very beautiful and as a National Nature Reserve needs to
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be protected from damage. On the other hand because it is very beautiful it
attracts many visitors to come and enjoy it mainly by walking. In places the
paths became so eroded that the National Park Rangers have replaced the
path with stone slabs (Winsford-34-Slabs). These are not natural but
necessary to help prevent any further damage to the river banks. This is an
example of environmental management to try to meet both the first and
second objectives of the National Park.
Fieldwork Activity 8 – The Carbon & Nitrogen Cycles
Knaplock Wood, which is encountered approximately two-thirds of the way
down the River Barle, provides a great opportunity to spend time with the
pupils investigating deciduous woodland layers and the carbon cycle.
All deciduous woodlands display a vertical layering of the vegetation so that
up to four layers or zones are visible.
1. The canopy layer: in temperate woods (unlike tropical forests) only a few
species are present. One or two species are dominant and give their name to
the community, e.g. beech. The trees making up the canopy determine the
microclimate of the wood. Different species will have differing effects, mainly
in the intensity of light they allow through.
2. The shrub layer: made up of small trees unable to reach the canopy, e.g.
hazel, but which can thrive in the semi shade produced by the canopy layer.
Evergreen shrubs, e.g. holly, are well adapted.
3. The field layer: Plants which grow up to a metre in height and a layer
showing the greatest diversity of species. Competition is high amongst the
different species.
4. The ground layer: those species living very close to the soil surface, e.g.
mosses and liverworts. In mid-summer very little light will reach this region
Point out the canopy to the pupils. What trees make up the canopy? (Oak
and Beech). Now divide the pupils into pairs and send them off into the
woodland to do some investigating. What can they find growing in the shrub,
field and ground layers? It is important here not to remove anything growing!
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With digital cameras or smart phones the pupils can record what they see or
draw the attention of adults to what they have found. Allow plenty of time for
exploration. When back together take feedback. In most instances the only
things growing in the shrub layer will be young beech trees and almost
nothing else and similarly not much diversity either in the field layer with the
ground layer being covered with bracken, dead leaves, rotting logs and
branches, fungi and mosses and lichens. Why have the pupils found very
little? Beech leaves little chance for other trees to establish themselves. They
open about two weeks before other deciduous trees such as oak and the
canopy layer allows little light through (approx. 5%) and often because of this
the ground layers are very poor in species diversity.
The beech and oak woodland here provides an excellent opportunity also to
investigate the nutrient cycle within the ground layer. Take time to revisit the
main aspects of the nutrient cycle and what is happening in terms of
vegetation decay and the release of carbon and nitrogen on the floor of the
woodland. An excellent introductory activity in the classroom is the free
downloadable Northern Ireland Environment and Heritage Service pdf
document Minibeast Activity Booklet included here as Winsford-35Minibeast. Additional information and resources at www.ehsni.gov.uk .
Pupils can undertake their own minibeast survey of the leaf litter and
decaying wood using the free downloadable pictorial pdf key from CONE at
www.workingwithwildlife.co.uk and included here as Winsford-36Beast_Key. A magnifying class would be very useful here!
Between Knaplock Wood and Tarr Steps there are many opportunities to
illustrate how powerful the River Barle is when in flood. Ask the pupils to look
in and beside the river to identify evidence of serious flooding in the past e.g.
huge boulders in mid – stream; large trunks and branches mid-stream and
also along the river banks as well as evidence of serious undercutting of the
banks on both sides of the river (which is what ultimately causes trees on the
banks to collapse into the river).. Take the pupils to look at the cable spans
across the river (Winsford-37-Cables) and ask them what the purpose of this
construction could be. It is to prevent the very largest pieces of uprooted
trees flowing into Tarr Steps. On many occasions in the past one or more of
the flat top slabs (weighing 1-2 tonnes) have been dislodged and washed
away and this happened again in December 2012 when the cables broke
under the weight of trees coming downstream.
The Tarr Steps bridge is a very fine example of a clapper bridge, in fact the
largest in the UK (Winsford-38-Tarr_Steps). Encourage the pupils to look
closely at the design of the bridge. How exactly has it been constructed?
Large flat slabs of stone lie across the top of stone piers or pillars. There is
no mortar or cement holding them together they are fitted together and
balanced. The design is thought to have been used for the first time in
prehistoric times but Tarr Steps is considered to have been constructed in
medieval times during the 1300s – so over 700 years old. Ask the pupils to
estimate its length by pacing out across it (approximately 50m) and its height
above the water (approximately 1m). How many spans (stone slabs resting
on pillars) are there? (17). If each of the top slabs weighs about 1.5 tonnes
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then how much does the whole bridge weigh? Emphasise to the pupils that
this bridge would have had to have been constructed originally by hand at this
point. Why do they think the clapper bridge was built in this particular
location? The key here is that the water is shallow – the bridge would have
been only for people on foot – and alongside the bridge is a ford through
which carts and wagons and herds of animals could cross the river without
danger.
Option 2 – Park at Tarr Steps with Circular Walk of 2.5km
From the top of Winsford Hill travel by coach the short distance down through
Liscombe to the car park at 873324. From here it is a short walk down the
lane to Tarr Steps. From Tarr Steps there is a circular 2.5 km Jubilee Walk
enabling pupils to walk up one side of the river to the bridge at 857338 and
then return along the other side to Tarr Steps. All of the Fieldwork Activities
5-8 detailed above can be carried out at various points along this circular
walk.
Learning outcomes
Through the range of learning and teaching activities the pupils have
opportunities to:
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Recognise and identify
Express views and ask questions
Respond to simple questions
Observe and describe
Select appropriate information
Undertake simple subject based tasks
Use simple subject vocabulary
Compare and contrast
Offer reasons
Use basic subject skills
Use secondary evidence
Communicate views and opinions
Use appropriate subject vocabulary
Understand natural patterns and processes
Understand human patterns and processes
Demonstrate understanding through explanation
Use a range of subject skills
Suggest enquiry questions and investigate them
Use primary evidence
Select information to answer an enquiry
Identify, describe and explain patterns, processes, links and
relationships
Reach conclusions and make judgements
Reach substantiated conclusions consistent with the evidence which
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draw on the application of attitudes and values
Critically evaluate both the enquiry process and conclusions reached
for validity and trustworthiness
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