WW2 Anti Tank Blocks

You'll spot them first as concrete teeth along the Somerset lanes - stubby pyramids about waist-high, planted in defiant rows across fields near Crewkerne. These are anti-tank blocks, built during the Second World War when invasion felt imminent and every village needed to be a fortress.

They're scattered across the landscape here, remnants of a desperate line of defence that never saw action. The blocks were meant to stop German tanks rolling inland from the coast. Seeing them now feels oddly peaceful - grey lumps of wartime anxiety softening into the green countryside. You can stop the car and walk among them, touch the concrete, try to imagine the fear that made someone think these might actually work.

History buffs will find them genuinely affecting. Kids tend to find them dull after five minutes, if we're being honest - they're not interactive, no interpretation boards, just blocks. But for anyone interested in how Britain braced itself for invasion, they're worth a detour. The real story isn't the blocks themselves; it's what they represent.

They're free to access and you can see them anytime - no gates, no opening hours. Allow twenty minutes maximum unless you're photographing them seriously. They work well as a brief stop between camping at Wytch Wood or Dimpsey Shepherd's Hut Glamping and other attractions in the area. Don't expect a visitor centre or facilities. It's just you, the blocks, and the Somerset fields.