By /

Stolford & Lilstock

Stolford and Lilstock

Stolford is a small fishing and farming community to the east of Hinkley Point, while the somewhat remote hamlet and old harbour of Lilstock lie in the Quantock Hills on the coast west of Hinkley Point. The beaches are mostly shingle, sand and mud but the remains of a petrified forest can be seen at low tide on the Stolford shore and in Lilstock there are the remains of the old jetty that once served a bustling port. Lilstock is also the boundary between the Bridgwater Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSS) for nature and the Blue Anchor to Lilstock SSSI, which protects the rock formations and fossils in the cliffs and foreshore.

 

  • View to Lilstock
  • Old Carriage Road on Fairfield Estate at Lilstock
  • St Andrews Church at Lilstock
  • Stolford sea view
  • View of Hinkley Point from Lilstock

This area includes circular walks and Storywalks at both Stolford and Lilstock as well as the ambitious Castles and Coast Way, which begins in Nether Stowey if you’re planning on completing the full 13 miles in one day, but can also be split into two walls of about 7 miles that can be accessed from the village of Stogursey.

To the east of Hinkley, much of the coastal land is common land and grazed by local farmers. To the west the coast passes through country estates that date back to William the Conqueror – first the Fairfield Estate and then the East Quantoxhead Estate.

Lilstock was once a thriving port, which reached its hey day in the mid 19th Century, by which time it had a jetty, a quayside and a customs office and was a stopping off point for pleasure cruisers coming from Cardiff and heading on to Minehead and Ilfracombe to the west. Little remains of this but it’s still possible to see the line of the jetty and find the ruins of some of the old quayside buildings in the woods behind the beach.

Around Lilstock there are a great many footpaths that connect small communities such as Shurton, Burton, Knighton and Kilton to the coast.

Learn more

Where to stay

Please note: this map shows approximate location
Scroll to Top