Churchstanton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, lying within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the River Otter 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Taunton.
State Education for the children of the village up to aged 11 is provided by Somerset County Council's Churchstanton Primary School, at Willand.
[9] Ringdown is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest where outcrops of both Cretaceous Upper Greensand and underlying Triassic Keuper Marls occur.
Amongst the vegetation present are two species which are very restricted in South West Britain, white beaksedge (Rhynchospora alba) and dioecious sedge (Carex dioica).
[10] To the east of Churchinford village lies a local nature reserve set around two lakes of the former landscaped gardens of Otterhead House, which was demolished in 1952.
The company was set up in 2008 to conserve and part restore the built heritage features on site, as well as continuing the work of the Somerset Wildlife Trust who used to manage the reserve.
The main feature of the LNR is the valley of the River Otter, in which the former Victorian estate had created a flight of five lakes and a complicated system of leats, weirs and pumps.
[citation needed] A range of semi-natural habitats make up the reserve including alder and willow carr, dry deciduous woodland, unimproved neutral grassland, and freshwater streams and ditches.