the church, two
pleasant combes may be reached, Tannery Combe and Hodder's Combe (the
latter is perhaps a corruption of the name of Odda, the Earl of Devon
who aided Alfred, see p. 201). The hill between them bears the name of
_Hare Kanp_, possibly preserving the memory of the Saxon armies that
once marched along the trackway that crosses it (M.E. and A.S. _here_,
an army). Near Holford is _Alfoxden_, the residence of Wordsworth in
1797, when Coleridge was at Nether Stowey.

[Illustration: ALFOXDEN HOUSE, NEAR HOLFORD]

_Holton_, a village 2-1/2 m. S.W. of Wincanton. Its church is small and
contains a stone 15th-cent. pulpit and a Norm. font. On the S. porch is
an old sundial, and in the churchyard the base of a cross.

_Holms, The Flat and Steep_, two islands in the Bristol Channel,
forming familiar objects to all visitors to the Somerset sea-board.
Geologically they belong to the county, for they are the last expiring
protest of the Mendip chain against its final submergence in the sea.
The Steep Holm, the nearer and more conspicuous of the two islets, 5 m.
from the coast, is little better than a barren rock rearing its huge
bulk precipitously, nearly 300 ft. above the waves. It is almost
inaccessible, but has perhaps for this reason occasionally afforded an
asylum to refugees from the mainland, although the statement that
Gildas found security in this retreat appears to be an error. There
still remain some fragments of a priory. The Flat Holm, 2 m. farther
off, though of about the same circumference (1-1/2 m.), is a far less
imposing object in the sea-scape, but is more amenable to the
influences of civilisation. It is occupied by a lighthouse and a farm,
and is sometimes made the excuse for a channel trip by visitors from
the neighbouring watering-places, as it affords amongst other
attractions some facilities for bathing.

_Hornblotton_, a parish 3 m. N.W. of Castle Cary Station. The church,
which stands about a mile from the Fosse Way to Ilchester, is modern,
but the tower of the old church is left standing, and a piscina has
been removed from it to the new building.

[Illustration: HORNER WOODS AND PORLOCK VALE]

_Horner Valley_, one of the many charming walks which abound in the
neighbourhood of Porlock. Follow the Minehead road for about a mile and
then strike up the banks of the Horner Water by a lane on the R. On the
way will be noticed spanning the stream a quaint pack-horse bridge
beloved of photogra