Hike The Hethas Walk

If you have a love of alliteration then this walk is for you as you will Hike The Hetha Hillforts from Hethpool!

This is a smashing little walk starting from the Hethpool parking at the top of the College Valley. From the car park we get great view of Great Hetha, but we're going to head up Little Hetha first.

Now Little Hetha and the land in front of it is actually not on open access land, so we can't just trounce straight up from the parking to the top. Fortunately there is a permissive path from the north side, so we have to go around the back of Little Hetha before we can head up to the summit.

So from the parking we turn our back on Great Hetha and follow the road north, before heading west at the junction. You will see Little Hetha and Great Hetha as you follow the road, so you can't get lost, and then just look for a fingerpost pointing to the top of Little Hetha and follow the path.

As with most hillforts, it's difficult to get a good look at them at ground level, so if you have a drone, a large set of stilts or a hot air balloon, then get it out now.

Oof, look at those lovely ramparts of an Iron Age hillfort. You can see there are several rings of earth and stone ramparts still visible around the summit. Traces of roundhouses have also been found inside, suggesting this was once a small defended settlement rather than simply a lookout point.

From here we then head towards the gate and follow the path direct up to the top of Great Hetha. There is a little cairn to find here, but also another impressive hillfort.

Great Hetha is crowned by a substantial Iron Age hillfort, protected by multiple stone ramparts around the summit. The remains of roundhouses can also be traced inside, showing that this was once a pretty sizeable defended settlement overlooking the College Valley.

It's amazing to think that people were living up on these two hills more than 2,000 years ago, looking out over much the same landscape we see today.

Looking across the valley you will see the tops of Newton Tors and Hare Law.

Once you're done, follow the permissive path down and then you will reach the road on the valley floor just 5 minutes south of the parking.