Cadbury Camp (not to be confused with Cadbury Castle or Cadbury-Congresbury) is an Iron Age hillfort located near Tickenham in north Somerset. From this vantage point, its original inhabitants would have been able to see across the Mendips and towards the Bristol Channel, giving ample warning of any potential attackers, human or animal. During World War 2, it was used as a searchlight battery, to spot enemy aircraft heading for Bristol.
There is evidence that the site has been occupied since the 6th century BC, though the name is Saxon in origin. The ridge it sits on is man-made, not natural. Archaeological finds at the site include a bronze spearhead, which is now located in the Museum of Somerset in Taunton, and a Roman altar stone depicting the god Mars.
The site once formed part of the extensive Clevedon Estate, but is now managed by the National Trust in partnership with Natural England. The latter helps maintain it as an important habitat for nature, including buzzards, harebells, greater butterfly orchids, wild thyme, six-spotted burnet moths and silver fritillary butterflies. They have also helped remove an invasive population of Turkey oaks (a species normally native to southeastern Europe and western Asia), which had provided a home to damaging gall wasps.
Cadbury Camp can be accessed via a steep footpath from the B3130 at Tickenham. The path is not recommended for those with mobility problems. Bristol to Clevedon bus routes X7 and 364 stop nearby. It is 2 miles from Nailsea & Backwell railway station, and close to National Cycle Network route 41. The satnav postcode is BS20 7SF, and the what3words is really.worry.fire.
