Huntsham Castle

Huntsham Castle is an Iron Age hill fort near the village of Huntsham in Devon. It stands on a hill 260 metres above sea level, overlooking two tributaries of the River Lowman. The site is a roughly circular enclosure about 150 metres wide, with a rampart up to 2.9 metres high on the outside. A ditch runs around the rampart, up to 5.4 metres wide, though it is mostly buried. The northern side of the enclosure has the highest rampart, while the southern slope is gentler. The fort has two possible entrances, one on the north-eastern side and another on the western side where the rampart bends inward. A parish boundary bank crosses the enclosure, and three quarries lie around the edges, one of which cuts into the rampart. The north-eastern entrance is 7 metres wide, with inturned banks up to 2.2 metres wide. A field boundary bank marks the outer edge of the ditch in the north-east. Visitors find a grassy hilltop with clear earthworks marking the fort’s defences. The rampart and ditch are still visible, though the ditch is mostly filled in. An Ordnance Survey triangulation point stands on the north-eastern side, and stock fences and gates provide access. The surrounding fields and the view over the Lowman valleys complete the scene.