THE Exmoor Society is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the remarkable ‘rediscovery’ of a Bronze Age double stone row monument, found below Five Barrows on the southern ridge of Exmoor by renowned amateur archaeologist Hazel Eardley Wilmot.

A series of special events will mark the occasion, including a guided walk at the site and an exhibition in the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon which runs until October 4.

Hazel Eardley-Wilmot discovered the quarter-mile-long double stone row, made up partly of quartz stones, in 1975 and surveyed the site alongside volunteers from the North Devon Archaeological Society (NDAS) and the Exmoor Society.

In all, 164 stones were identified, making it the longest double-row stone monument of small and medium stones in Great Britain.

A guided walk around the White Ladder site will be led by volunteers Graeme Horn and James Radley on Saturday (August 23).

Alongside a visit to the White Ladder, visitors will also be able to explore neighbouring Five Barrows, and other local features discovered by Hazel, including two crossed rows, a possible ellipse, and about 30 small mounds.

Bookings can be made via The Exmoor Society website.

Over the summer, the Exmoor Society archive will also join a fascinating new exhibition at the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon, celebrating the vital role of volunteers in archaeology.

Organised by NDAS, the exhibition features a rich collection of images, maps, documents, and photographs from the Exmoor Society archive, showcasing the groundbreaking archaeological work of Hazel Eardley-Wilmot on Exmoor.

Hazel Eardley Wilmot, an Oxford English graduate, teacher, and educationalist, retired to North Molton in 1969.

She spent 30 years studying the prehistoric monuments of Exmoor and published a microstudy, ‘Ancient Exmoor’ and a history, ‘Yesterday’s Exmoor’.

The society’s archive has loaned Hazel’s walking stick, fitted with a four-inch spike, which she used for prodding along the lines of White Ladder to find stones buried under the turf.

On display are her handwritten ‘dig’ diary and her small hand-drawn pocket-sized diagram of the 164 stones found.

There will also be a display from the Exmoor Society archive on an emergency rescue archaeological dig led by Hazel over Jubilee Weekend in 1977 to examine Kinsford Gate Barrow before ploughing took place.

NDAS will also showcase its work uncovering a 10,000-year-old flint tool making site, the excavation of an 18th century clay pipe workshop, and of the spectacular Clovelly Dykes Iron Age defended site.

The exhibition ‘Digging Deeper’ is free.

Exmoor Society volunteer Graeme Horn will give a presentation on Hazel Eardley-Wilmot and the White Ladder during the exhibition in September.

A SECOND town jumble trail is to be held in Watchet on Bank Holiday Monday (August 25) following the success of a first event at Easter.

Sellers’ fees will go toward a £10,000 appeal by Angela and Martin Chadwick, who plan to buy an ambulance and equip it with medical supplies and drive to Ukraine.

The couple will hand over the vehicle to a medical centre from where it will be driven to the front line to provide urgent care to those affected by the war.

The jumble trail, running from 10 am to 4 pm, will again be organised by West Somerset Welcome Hub manager Kate Kennedy, who said: “This event is our way of giving back to the local community, who have been unfailingly supportive of our work.

“A jumble trail is like a large-scale yard sale spread across the town, with individual stalls outside homes and businesses.

“We already have over 60 sellers registered, and there is still time to join in, sellers can register until August 17 for a fee of £4.

“Visitors can pick up a paper map from Watchet Visitor Centre or use the QR code for our online version to explore all the stalls.”

Ms Kennedy said anybody who had already registered with her could now go to Watchet Visitor Centre to pay their £4 seller’s fee.

They will then receive an official seller’s poster to display in the window of their home or on their gate, or anywhere else visible to the public.

Anybody who wants to register should contact Ms Kennedy by emailing [email protected] or via the welcome hub’s Facebook page.

The welcome hub, which operates on Thursdays from The Sanctuary, Swain Street, and on Wednesdays in Minehead Eye, provides advice, information, and support for refugees and migrants starting a new life in West Somerset.

MEMBERS of Bicknoller Women’s Institute took forward the 2025 WI Resolution ‘Bystanders can be Lifesavers’ by holding a ‘Restart a Heart’ event in Bicknoller Village Hall.

They arranged for the Devon and Somerset Air Ambulance to attend and present two one-hour sessions on how and when to carry out CPR and how and when to use a defibrillator in the process of restarting a heart.

Many WI members took part as well as members of the community and each participant paid £5, all proceeds going to the air ambulance.

The total raised was £120 and Bicknoller WI covered the cost of the hire of the hall and the refreshments.

Feedback was excellent and showed appreciation of the straightforward approach of the three trainers, keeping it simple and reassuring participants not to be afraid of carrying out the procedure, explaining that doing something is better than doing nothing.

Each participant received a certificate and a card giving instructions.

Bicknoller WI have been asked already if they could make this an annual event so that more people will be able to attend and those who wish to recap can attend, too.

THE garden at Elworthy Cottage is open again for the National Gardens Scheme on Monday (August 25).

This August, ornamental grasses have shown their worth in the late summer garden and have stood up very well to the drought conditions.

Pesticides are not used in the garden and all plants are grown in peat free compost.

Again this year the garden has had a family of baby hedgehogs.

The garden is open from 11 am to 4.30 pm and admission is £5, children free.

Dogs are welcome on short leads.

Teas are available in aid of the Children’s Hospice South West.

Elworthy is on the B3188 half way between Wiveliscombe and Watchet.

Further details are available by calling 01984 656427 or visiting the garden’s website.

NHS Somerset’s engagement roadshow, Somerset’s Big Conversation 2025, is now in full swing with more ways than ever for local people, staff, and partners to be involved in shaping the future of health and care in local communities.

The major engagement programme supports the direction set out in the Government’s newly-published 10-year ‘Health Plan for England: Fit for the Future’, a national commitment to delivering more personalised, joined-up care closer to home.

In Somerset, communities have long said they value care in local settings, and NHS Somerset is now working to turn that vision into reality.

Together, all of the activity will feed into the development of a new model of care for community and neighbourhood services, from outpatient clinics to dementia support and children’s services, informed by real feedback, clinical best practice, and local data.

An interactive, web-based engagement tool has been launched to make it easy for people to share their views from anywhere.

Alongside the online tools, the engagement roadshow is travelling across the county this summer, attending a wide range of community events, town centres, and local gatherings.

The face-to-face conversations allow NHS Somerset to hear directly from residents about their experiences of healthcare and what matters most in their local areas.

Hundreds of people have already been spoken to, from Chard to Frome, Taunton to Minehead, and new dates are being added all the time.

Anyody who would like to volunteer to support the engagement roadshow should email [email protected].

Expressions of interest are also being sought to join a stakeholder reference group, a space for regular discussion, co-design, and feedback on future care models in Somerset.

Anybody interested in joining a group should email [email protected].

THE church orchestra of St Andrew’s Church, Old Cleeve, will be joined by guest musicians to play a selection of classical and popular music at 3 pm on September 6.

This will be followed by tea and cakes in the Church Room provided by Friends of Old Cleeve.

Everybody is welcome to attend this free event and donations are invited which will go towards the maintenance of the Church Room, which is in urgent need of repairs.

The room has a plaque on the front which states it was built in 1811 as a school room ‘solely at the expense of Rev William Newton’, who was the rector at that time.

However, the previous building on the site, the Church House, dates back to the early 17th century and was originally rented from the manor and eventually used to house the poor.