Park in the pay-and-display car park (not cheap!) and stroll up to the 'log cabin' where you can buy a nice cuppa and then take in the view from Symond Yat rock. Between the car park and said 'log cabin' you walk through the hillfort - defences either side of path. Couldn't be easier.
Never have I seen a hillfort with such effortless access. The hillfort at Symonds Yat is still impressive
despite being almost entirely in the carpark of said beauty spot, upon entering the carpark from the road a single lane takes you laboriously round and through the woods and right past the earthwork, (but you can't stop here) reckoning on the size of the carpark it must get pretty busy in the summer.
The innermost bank and ditch are the biggest by far, at least ten feet seperates the top of one with the bottom of the other, and at least two other smaller earthwork defences lie just yards down the gentle slope. The path from the cars to the viewpoint cuts over and through the defences but kind of gives an almost cross section view of the hillfort.
Because of "access improvements" we were denied that famous vista of the River Wye running to and from us, but were led off down a path to an alternative viewpoint. Which quite frankly wasn't what we'd come for, all I can say is Goodrich castle better be open, and bring on the stones.
The OS map shows three parallel lines of defences on the south side of the Symonds Yat Rock, and an extra bank at the west end. This would have attempted to cut the whole of Huntsham Hill off from the mainland, with the River Wye surrounding it on three sides.
They are situated on the west side of the road (B4432), just to the south of the entrance to the car park for people with disabilities. Three lines of banks and ditches are clearly visible (but not large), with the northern one being the largest. This one seems to straddle the road as well. This is not actually the high ground in the area, and the defences are slight, so this seems to be a relatively low-key attempt at any sort of 'defence'.
The nearby Yat Rock is a major viewpoint in the area and is well worth a visit. Another excellent viewpoint exists just off the east side of the road, opposite the banks and ditches.
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