The Brendon Hills are composed of a lofty ridge of hills in the East Lyn Valley

East Lyn Valley

East Lyn Valley is a valley of Exmoor, covering northern Devon and western Somerset, England.The East Lyn River is formed from several main tributaries beginning near Weir Water...

 area of western Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The terrain is broken by a series of deeply incised streams and rivers running roughly southwards to meet the River Haddeo

River Haddeo

The River Haddeo on Exmoor in Somerset, England flows from the Wimbleball Lake to the River Exe.The valley of the river consists of three tributary valleys extending down from the surrounding farmland to merge with the River Haddeo in the south...

, a tributary of the River Exe

River Exe

The River Exe in England rises near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, near the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south coast of Devon...

.

The hills are quite heavily cultivated unlike their neighbouring upland areas of Exmoor

Exmoor

Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...

 and the Quantock Hills

Quantock Hills

The Quantock Hills is a range of hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. The Quantock Hills were England’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty being designated in 1956 and consists of large amounts of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land.The hills run from...

. Over the centuries they have been mined for minerals, notably ironstone

Ironstone

Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...

 from which iron is extracted for making steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

. During the 19th century this activity reached a peak with the West Somerset Mineral Railway

West Somerset Mineral Railway

The West Somerset Mineral Railway was a line which operated in the UK county of Somerset. It ran from the ironstone mines in the Brendon Hills to the port of Watchet on the Bristol Channel. From there the ore was carried across by ship to Newport and thence to Ebbw Vale for smelting to extract...

, including an 800 feet (244 m) incline, being built to take the ore to Watchet

Watchet

Watchet is a harbour town and civil parish in the English county of Somerset, with an approximate population of 4,400. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The parish includes the hamlet of Beggearn Huish...

 from where it was sent to Ebbw Vale

Ebbw Vale

Ebbw Vale is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River, south Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough...

 for smelting

Smelting

Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...

. The main mining operations ended when the mines were worked out towards the end of the 19th century.

The hills merge level into the eastern side of Exmoor, and they are included within the Exmoor National Park. The highest point on the hills is Lype Hill at 1388 feet (423 m) above sea level the range meets Exmoor.
The highest point on the ridge itself is 1350 feet (411 m). Both points are marked by Ordnance Survey

Ordnance Survey

Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...

 trig point

Trig point

A triangulation station, also known as a triangulation pillar, trigonometrical station, trigonometrical point, trig station, trig beacon or trig point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity...

s and are located within enclosed farmland.

The hills are on the route of the Coleridge Way

Coleridge Way

The Coleridge Way is a footpath in Somerset, England.It was opened in April 2005, and follows the walks taken by poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, to Porlock, starting from Coleridge Cottage at Nether Stowey, where he once lived.The footpath is waymarked...

.