Green Spaces
Honiton has a number of beautiful green spaces for you to enjoy all of which are registered with the BBC Breathing Places website.
The Glen
The Glen, along the banks of the Glen Stream which flows into the River Gissage, is only 600m or about 5 minutes walk from the town centre. Signs show the location from various parts of the town.
The Glen has many notable heritage features which can be seen on postcards from a hundred years ago depicting the Higher Glen. These cards of of especial value as visual aids to restoring the various paths, waterfalls and cascades which can still be seen in The Glen today. In 2007 the Town Council formed The Friends of The Glen with the aim of regenerating this open space and working parties have been clearing the grossly overgrown laurels, letting light into the valley for the first time in many years.
The Glen is associated with one of Honiton's leading families, the Ashleys of Pine Park House on Parsonage Lane. The lane separated the Pine Park Estate from the grounds of a former Honiton rectory. This rectory had a formidable water garden which led on to the Higher Glen's cascades, weirs and rustic bridges. The Higher Glen has steep sided banks and is at present inaccessible. A centuries-old leat in the Lower Glen provided water for the town centre until the 1970s.
The Lower Glen was opened to the public in 1937 commemorating the coronation of King George VI. Trees were planted by local school children to mark the occasion and several still stand today. Additional pieces of land have been qcquired and a large open sloping site on the south west side is a welcome addition. The leat which fed the town gully from New Street to Dowell Street terminates here and the water diverted into the main stream which then goes underground.
The Glen is a haven for wildlife and all are welcome to come and enjoy this unique green space in the centre of the town.
>>More information
The Millennium Green
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The Millennium Green is part of the open recreational space adjacent to the Higher Glen and has served to help protect the area from development. The Green hosts many events including band concerts. Created as part of the Millennium Greens Breathing Spaces programme, it is managed by the Millennium Green Trust on behalf of the Town Council.
The Millennium Green, part of Honiton - the Town in the Country, consists of parkland with adjoining wildlife habitats in the valley of the Glen Stream, protected from development, running from close to the town centre to the boundary of the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A Millennium Green was chosen by Honiton organisations to commemorate the Millennium and Honiton's application was one of more than 250 accepted by The Millennium Commission. The Honiton Millennium Green has been developed from a field of approximately two acres (named The Josephine Wagstaff Meadow) and is held on trust for the People of Honiton by The Honiton Millennium Green Trust for quiet relaxation and exercise, as well as providing space for wildlife. Part of the Green has a park-like atmosphere with short grass, seats and a surfaced path, while the remainder has lower intervention maintenance to provide varied habitats for wildlife. A quite wide range of native mainly decidous trees and shrubs, none of which were previously in the field, is to be found in varying densities with areas of grassland for wildflowers too.
Address: Honiton Millennium Green, Parsonage Lane, Off Pine Park Road, Honiton. OS Grid ref: ST169002
Further information: Vehicular access is via the single track Parsonage Lane from Pine Park Road and there is only very limited space for car parking. There are surfaced pedestrian routes from much of Honiton; such as from the Pine Park Road railway bridge via The Glen public open space and also via Lake Close. There are signposts at Church Hill and at the Pine Park Road and the Station bridges. The footpath from opposite the Station is particularly steep and a route via Avenue Mezidon-Canon involves flights of steps. Another flight of Steps, from Waterleat Avenue, can be be bypassed by continuing over The Glen Bridge and walking through Lake Close to Parsonage Lane. Anyone deterred by the Green's uphill location from the town centre could travel by bus to Waterleat Avenue and then walk back via the Green and the Glen.
Roundball Wood Back to top
The wood, on the northern slope of Roundball Hill and with a magnificent view over Honiton and the Otter Valley, is managed by the Town Council as community woodland and nature reserve. The wood is centuries old and although in its long history it has been used for grazing cattle nothing has been planted there, and the boundaries have not changed, for many years. As a result the wood is in a natural state described as semi-ancient woodland.
The Council is hoping that more members of the public will volunteer to participate in the management and study of this wonderful example of our woodland heritage.
Roundball Wood is just one of several environmental projects undertaken by the Town Council in the last few years. Richard Howe, Leading Warden, says: “The wood is looking especially attractive at the moment. I was delighted to see so many people turn up at our recent volunteer day, especially as most of them already knew and appreciated our very own heritage woodland. We are certainly going to benefit from their involvement “
Footpaths
Honiton is fortunate to have a good network of footpaths and lanes which allow pedestrian access to many parts of the town and surrounding area. Look out for the green footpath signs or yellow rights of way signs.
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