Chapter one
Dialect
The old Somerset dialect word ‘giltin-cup' (pronounced gu'l-tin-ca'yp) refers simply to buttercups, a small golden flower often found in rarely ploughed fields where productive dairy herds graze. At one time it was thought that the gold of the flower enriched the colour and taste of the butter itself but actually cattle avoid fresh buttercups since they are poisonous to eat.

Chapter two
Stolford
Published over 100 years ago The Somerset Coast was an armchair traveller's guide designed to take you on a sightseeing journey passing through hamlets and villages along the coast. It is interesting to note how accurate the description is even after a century of industrial changes.
From this point a succession of winding lanes leads down to the curving shore of Bridgwater Bay at Stolford. Here meadows, a farmstead with well-filled rickyards, and a compound heavily walled and buttressed against flooding from salt marshes, border upon a raised beach of large blue-grey stones, which replaces the mud that gathers round the Parrett estuary. Here at low spring tides traces may yet be found of the submarine forest off-shore. A sample of the foreshore taken at Stolford usually suffices explorers and fully satisfies their curiosity; for the clattering loose stones of the heaped-up beach form an extremely tiring exercise ground.
(The Somerset Coast – Harper 1909)
From this point a succession of winding lanes leads down to the curving shore of Bridgwater Bay at Stolford. Here meadows, a farmstead with well-filled rickyards, and a compound heavily walled and buttressed against flooding from salt marshes, border upon a raised beach of large blue-grey stones, which replaces the mud that gathers round the Parrett estuary. Here at low spring tides traces may yet be found of the submarine forest off-shore. A sample of the foreshore taken at Stolford usually suffices explorers and fully satisfies their curiosity; for the clattering loose stones of the heaped-up beach form an extremely tiring exercise ground.
(The Somerset Coast – Harper 1909)

Chapter three
The Earl of Northumberland
The map pictured is an extract from a survey of Week Fitzpaine, a Quantock manor owned by Henry Percy the 9th Earl of Northumberland (1564–1632) and now held in the Somerset Heritage Centre. It depicts the lands here at Stolford from a perspective of yield and productivity. The fields and enclosures are all referenced with size and expected yield so taxes can be levied appropriately.
Hinkley Point, now the location of the power stations and the end of our walk, is easily found on the map as the promontory beneath the compass and to the right of the sea-beast.
Hinkley Point, now the location of the power stations and the end of our walk, is easily found on the map as the promontory beneath the compass and to the right of the sea-beast.
Directions - Walk up the ramp and turn left, the next chapter will reveal just a few paces along the path. Note - refresh this page whenever the distance counter gets a little sleepy or use the 'help' button on the bar below. As you journey perhaps consider what the old Somerset dialect word ‘culch’ (pronounced kuul'ch) might refer to.