Breathless at Brent Knoll

One of the upsides of moving back to my home town is that I can take my daughter to all the places I enjoyed going to as a child.

One of those places is Brent Knoll on the Somerset Levels. It is quite a unique hill. Anyone travelling on the M5 to Devon and Cornwall may have spotted it as they pass Weston-super-Mare and travel further into the South West. It looms up out of a landscape which is predominantly flat (well, they aren't called the levels for nothing). It is 449 ft above sea level and once you've got to the top, there are 360 degree views all around you.

It's no wonder you find the remains of a hill fort up there, you could see your enemy approaching from all directions. For many years it has been used as a vantage point. Bronze age, Iron age and Roman troops have used Brent Knoll as a safe place to keep an eye on the surrounding land.

These days it is one of the best places to see jaw-dropping views of the beautiful countryside and coastline we're lucky enough to have on our doorstep.

From the top you can see the coast of South Wales, the hills of Exmoor, the edge of the Quantocks, the Mendip hills, Cheddar Gorge and far off in the distance, Glastonbury Tor.

But before you get to see these views, you have to put in some leg work.

I haven't been to Brent Knoll since I was a child and I'd forgotten how steep it was. My heart sank when we got to the foot of the hill. I thought my daughter would complain all the way up. How wrong I was. She stormed on ahead of my husband and I. She was completely caught up in the task of getting to the top.

There's nothing like a climb up a steep hill to make you feel unfit. Whilst my daughter took the climb in her stride, we were puffing and panting up the path behind her. I felt like my heart was going to burst out my chest at one point.

But once you get to the top, you are completely rewarded for your efforts.

My daughter stood at the edge with her arms flung out on either side of her and shouted "this is amazing!"

And who can argue with that?