The village of Hinton Charterhouse takes its name from an ancient priory established in the area way back in 1232 by the Carthusian order of monks.

This was only their second base in Britain and, as was the norm, the name of Charterhouse was given to each of their monastic settlements.

The remains of the priory consist of a chapter house and refectory, as well as the outlines of the cloisters, although casual passers-by will have to be content with a distant view of these ancient buildings, with the complex being very much a private property.

St John the Baptist Church is another of the ancient religious establishments in the village, with origins that predate even those of the priory.

A Norman church, the fine doorway and font, as well as the lower part of the tower, date from this era. The local guidebooks point out a wooden seat in the churchyard, replete with a plaque bearing the legend: "This seat contains teak from HMShip Valiant Jutland 1916. Cape Matapan 1941."

As is the case in so many English villages, the grand house – in this case Hinton House – borders on to the church grounds, thus ensuring the Lord and his Lady had easy access to their dedicated pew each Sabbath.

A series of quiet country lanes – broken only by an unavoidable and intrusive crossing of the main A36 – brings the walk to Friary, the next settlement along the way.

With a name like that, it is inevitable that those monks left their imprint here, too.

This tiny hamlet, located in a cleft in the valley, was the living quarters for the lay brothers from nearby Hinton Priory.

As was the custom, the monks themselves lived in residence in the main block up on the hilltop, within easy reach of the cloisters and their place of worship, while their more humble colleagues lived in quiet rural seclusion in the damp and dank surrounds of the wooded Frome Valley.

Beyond Friary, a path runs across the hillside above the River Frome to reach the fringes of Freshford and Sharpstone.

These villages have existed since Saxon times, and existed before the land at Fersceforde was given to Bath Abbey after the Norman Conquest. A mill was located here as early as 1086 and there are still remains of one built in the 1540s. In the 19th century, freestone and fuller's earth were mined in the parish and employment included the manufacture of cloth, the operation of malt-kilns, breweries and fulling-mills.

The importance of weaving can be seen at the site of Freshford Mill – now being redeveloped as housing – and the numerous weavers' cottages, some of which line the hillside in Sharpstone.

Another encounter with the A36, and a stroll through the settlement of Pipehouse, follow before a real surprise. In the delightfully-named Hog Wood, the visitor will experience a brief encounter with a unique World War II relic. Stop Line Green was a continuous linear defence sweeping in a vast semi-circle around the eastern approaches to Bristol. Rivers, pills boxes and tank traps were positioned so as to thwart a German invasion.

Deep in the woodland is a tank trench, a unique anti-tank obstacle that exists nowhere else in this neck of the woods. It may look just like an old ditch full of murky slime, but landmarks such as this are absolute gems to local military historians.

Back in Hinton Charterhouse, the Rose and Crown is well worth a visit. A late 18th-century inn owned by the Butcombe Brewery, the claim on its website to be a "wonderfully charismatic pub famous for its high quality food and drink offering" is, in this case, close to the mark.

The Proper Pie proved all too tempting and was, of course, made with steak and Butcombe ale. Served with new potatoes and fresh vegetables, and accompanied by a pint of Butcombe Bitter, it proved the perfect refreshment at journey's end.