SOMERSET The Ramblers' Association is a national organisation which exists to facilitate the enjoyment and discovery on foot of Britain's countryside. FACTS AND FIGURES
The Somerset Ramblers' Association area contains nine groups, of which seven are area based

Confusingly the Ramblers' Association Somerset area is made up of the five districts of the current county of Somerset plus the Unitary Authority of North Somerset, which has been divided into the two groups of Woodspring and Clevedon.

The old county of Somerset included both North Somerset and another Unitary Authority called BANES (Bath & NE Somerset)

The five districts of Somerset have a total of 2993 miles of footpaths, 617 miles of bridleways, 186 miles of restricted byways and 4 miles of BOATS. The corresponding figures for North Somerset are 440 miles, 53 miles, 23 miles and 0.5 miles
The present county of Somerset has a population of just over half a million and is divided into five districts which vary greatly in size and population.

South Somerset is the biggest and most populous. The biggest town is Taunton (Taunton Deane), followed by Yeovil (South Somerset), Bridgwater (Sedgemoor), and Frome (Mendip).

In the last 10 years, the population has risen by 7.5%, more than twice England’s rate of increase.

The areas and populations are shown in the table opposite
 

Pop. 1000s

Area

Sq Km

Persons per sq km

Somerset

512.5

3451

149

Mendip

106.7

739

144

Sedgemoor

109.1

564

193

South Somerset

155.1

959

162

Taunton Deane

106.0

462

229

West Somerset

35.6

725

49
 

South West Population Density:

211

England Population Density:

385

The 5 District Councils were assessed in 2004.Taunton Deane was one of only four South West districts to receive the highest score of “excellent”.

District Council

Date assessed

Overall Rating*

Mendip

Sept 2004

Weak

Sedgemoor

Sept 2004

Fair

South Somerset

Sept 2004

Fair

Taunton Deane

Sept 2004

Excellent

West Somerset

Sept 2004

Weak
All the districts in the County have a higher male life expectancy than the England average (76.6). West Somerset (78.7) has the highest in the county and Mendip (77.4) the lowest.

All districts have a female life expectancy at or above the England average (80.9). Taunton Deane has the highest (82.5) and Mendip the lowest (81.8)

At 41.1, the mean age in Somerset is higher than both the English average (38.6) and the South West average (40.6).
Median gross full-time annual pay among Somerset residents is £21,300. This is below the median for both England(£23,300) and South West (£21,700).

In 2003, Somerset had a gross disposable household income per head of £12,839. (SW £12,704, Eng. £12,952). This is 28.6% more than 1998.
Somerset has a higher than average Manufacturing Sector (16.2%)than England (11.9%) and the SW (11.6%).

The largest employment sector in Somerset is Distribution, hotels & restaurants 28.7% (Eng.24.9% SW 26.9%).
At the time of the Census only 2.5% of Somerset workers travelled to work using public transport.
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At £191,949 the average house price in (Q3 2005) is 5.2% less than the SW (£202,396) and 2.7% less than England (£197,201). Within Somerset the average ranges from £172,306 in Sedgemoor to £213,719 in West Somerset