Haddon Hill and Wimbleball Lake 6 September 2012

After the wettest, and possibly the coolest English summer in living memory, the first Week in September has seen a good deal of welcome sunshine and reasonable temperatures, ideal for walking.

Wimbleball lake is a reservoir in the south eastern part of the Exmoor National Park. It was created in the 1970s by the construction of a 49 metre high concrete dam across the River Haddeo. It is in a truly rural setting, away from major roads and large settlements.

I started the 4.5 mile walk from the car park on Haddon Hill, a hogs back feature to the south of the lake with my, increasingly tatty, Ordnance Survey 1:25000 OL9 map. 

I set out in a westerly direction climbing gently across open moorland to Hadborough, the highest point on the ridge and home to an Ordnance Survey triangulation pillar. There are good all round views from here and the countryside was looking unusually green. 

From the pillar, a track leads downhill towards the dam. Having crossed the open ground I passed through deciduous woodland before descending a steep flight of stone steps onto a concrete road that is part of the reservoir infrastructure. I turned right in the direction that would climb to the top of the dam, which I soon glimpsed through the trees. 

Wimbleball dam

The public are permitted to walk across the top of the dam although it is designated as a permitted path and not a public right of way. I remember walking in the area in the 1970s when the dam was completed but the reservoir had not completely filled. The whole thing then looked rather a scar on the landscape, but the dam has matured and now has an assemblage of lichens growing on the concrete. There is a view of the valley of the River Haddeo from the top of the dam.

Looking north along the shores

Having crossed the dam I took the permitted path that leads around the western shore of the lake. This was a very pleasant walk, through woodland to begin with, but further on there were more open views across the lake.

Wimbleball has facilities for a wide variety of outdoor pursuits and is home to a sailing club. There is a camp site and a cafe not far from the Outdoor and Active centre.
From the centre I took the track up to the road, which I crossed, and continued on a footpath in a south westerly direction. This met the lane that runs between Brompton Regis and Hartford, which is situated below the Wimbleball dam. I turned left onto the lane and took the reservoir service road past the dam and found my way back to the car park.

Monksilver, Birds Hill and Nettlecombe 19 March 2012

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After week of often misty and then unsettled weather this was a really fine day with clear visibility.

I started from the village of Monksilver. Near the northern end of the village a lane leaves the main route to Wiveliscombe on the right if you are facing that destination. It heads up the side of the valley and a few yards along it a footpath is found on the left leading to Colton Cross. This is part of a long distance footpath known as the Samiritan's Way (South West).

The path climbs, not very steeply, but continuously. For a while a stream runs next to it. After about a third of a mile an opening into a field allowed a view looking back over Monksilver. This was a good spot to eat my packed lunch.

The path continued through woodland around the northern flank of Bird's Hill which reaches a height of around 310 metres. Bluebells were growing in the woods, but were not yet in flower. In a few weeks time these will form a spectacular blue carpet. The route then levels out somewhat before reaching a lane at Colton Cross. Bearing slightly to the right here along a lane an automated meteorological station can be seen. A short distance along the lane there is access via a permitted footpath to a viewpoint which offers fine vistas to the Bristol Channels and across to Wales. There is also an excellent view of Nettlecombe Court which lay further along the route of my walk.

Nettlecombe Court from Bird's Hill meteorological station

Leighland Chapel from Sticklepath

Having continued along the lane for a short distance, I found the footpath on the right hand side of the lane that led to the B3190 road near the hamlet of Sticklepath. From here there was a view of Leighland Chapel which I visited last year.  The Samaritan's way crosses the road and heads towards Leighland Chapel, but my route took me along the road towards Watchet.

Parsonage Pond

A few minutes walk along the road towards Watchet, a footpath left the road on the right and led through Chidgley Farm towards Nettlecombe court. I was soon in the open fields with fine views. There was one awkward bit of navigation a couple of fields further on, where the path descends into a gully and then continues past an isolated house.  It continued along the eastern edge of Nettlecombe Park and soon led me to Parsonage Pond. This is a really delightful spot with reflections of the parkland and the Court in the water.

Nettlecombe Court

Having lingered here and taken some pictures, I walked on past the front of the Court. This is now occupied by the Leonard Wills Field Centre, run by the Field Studies Council. I attended a geography course there in November 1968 as an undergraduate. That was a long time ago, but the area has not changed much.

I walked along the drive leading from the Court towards Woodford. On my left there were several more man-made ponds in a valley. Before reaching the road I left the drive to take a path that followed the stream back to Monksilver. At times I walked beside the water and at other times the path ran along the edge of the fields above the valley.

This had been a delightful Spring walk about 5 miles in length.

The Doone Valley 23 May 2012

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This was my first walk following a period of generally atrocious weather in April and the first half of May.

The morning was misty but the sun came through when I reached the top of Porlock Hill and the temperature started to climb.

The feature known as "The Doone Valley" and the surrounding area  is the inspiration and setting for R D Blackmore's romantic novel Lorna Doone. I have never read the book, but it is set in the 17th century and features a clan of outlaws who lived in the then remote valley. It seems less remote now. Its upper part does not have vehicular access but is a popular walking route and the fictional Doones would get plenty of visitors these days.

There is a car park at Malmsmead which costs £1.50 for the whole day. This hamlet lies at the entrance to the valley. Near here, Badgworthy (pronounced "badgery") Water, the river that flows down the north - south oriented Doone Valley joins Oare Water to become the west flowing East Lyn river. In the Doone Valley Badgworthy Water forms the boundary between the counties of Devon and Somerset.

From the car park I headed up a lane that is signed as the way to the public right of way up the Doone Valley. There is a private path that runs closer to the river in the lower part of the valley. The toll is 50 pence.

Badgworthy Water near Cloud Farm

Where the lane turned sharply to the right the public path continued straight on, The path descends to the river bank near Cloud Farm which has a camp site and a tea room. Beyond Cloud Farm there is no more habitation in the Doone Valley today. The water tumbles over rocks and has some quite deep pools .

A little further on there is a stone memorial to R D Blackmore whose novel, published in 1869, must have introduced Exmoor to many Victorians and today lends its title to many cafes, shops, hotels and so forth. A more modern example is Goathland, on the North Yorkshire Moors, which was the setting for the TV series "Heartbeat".

A good place for lunch

The path then entered  Badgworthy Wood. Oak was the predominant species and the trees were just coming into leaf.  It was time for lunch and I found a good spot by the river.  Continuing up the valley I came across a wooden structure built across the watercourse. This was a set of gates that were hinged so that they could open downstream. There were stock proof fences on the banks either side of the gate so I think the idea is to stop livestock using the shallow water to cross the boundary. The gates would open in times of flood to allow debris to pass downstream.  The temperature was rising by now and the shade provided by the trees was pleasant

Hinged gate

Beyond the woodland the valley became more open and the countryside started to take on an upland nature with scree slopes on the opposite side of the valley.

Badgworthy Water south of Badgworthy Wood 

 After a while my route started to climb above the level of the river and turned westward into Hoccombe Combe, a tributary valley. Other paths, including the long distance Samaritan's Way (south west) continue to the south.  Below the area where the paths diverge there are a number of grassy hummocks. These are all that remain of an abandoned medieval village. This remote settlement seems to have been in decline at least since the 15th century.

The next section of the walk climbed steadily, but not steeply, onto high moorland. Not far beyond the old village site I came across a herd of Devon Red cattle with several calves. As the name suggests, this hardy breed has a rich deep red-brown coloured coat.

Devon Red cattle 

On the moorland the path became rather indistinct and braided, but as visibility was good and the sun was out, I was able to keep heading in the right direction. Having grazed the 400 metre contour near Withycombe Ridge the path became more obvious as it descended to Lankcombe Ford where it crossed a tributary of Badgworthy Water. It then climbed back onto the high moor. I turned to head north onto a track that was signed to Malmsmead.

Open moorland

It was about half a mile further on that something went wrong and another half mile before I realised. According to the map Ordnance Survey OL9) I should have arrived at another ford but there was no sign of it. I had missed the point where the footpath left the made up track that I was walking on and had headed west rather than north. I came to a point where the track turned abruptly to the north - west and this would have brought me back onto my intended route. However, I decided to take a path that carried straight on and then follow a contour. This worked and brought me back to the lane on which I had started but further along. It was hard work as I had to climb into and out of a couple of deeply incised valleys.

It just remained to walk down the lane to Malmsmead to end what had been a very pleasant walk. My intended route had been 6 miles in length but, because of my error, I ended up covering 7.5 miles.

Hurlstone Point in squally weather 5th December 2011

The day was windy with a mixture of sunny spells and vicious showers of rain and hail. I was lucky and only endured one shower. Visibility was good between showers.


View Hurlstone Point in a larger map

The walk was about four miles and took me about two hours. I started from the car park above Bossington, at the end of the North Hill road out of Minehead. There is a network of possible walking routes from here, and although I have visited the area a few times I still managed to find sections I had not walked before.

From the car park I took an unsigned path that headed off in a north westerly direction rather than those signed to the Coast Path or Bossington. I then headed  west until I came to a stile crossing the wall on the edge of Bossington Woods. Looking to my right I could see below me a path heading down Lynch Combe and hoped to be able to meet this path at a lower level. I soon found myself heading south, and would have eventually arrived at Allerford if I continued this way. However, the path eventually slanted downhill to meet the more formally designated foot path that would take me to Hurlstone Point. The path leads down into Lynch Combe, crossing the track in the bottom of the combe before taking a short climb out of it again and more or less following the 100 metre contour to Hurlstone Point. Having been in woodland for some time with glimpses of the view across Porlock Bay, I was glad to get out into the open again.


The official guide to the South West Coast Path web pages describe a walk starting and ending at Bossington described as the  "Hurlstone Point Adventurous Walk". This includes a description of the next section.

In a westerly wind Hurlestone Point is about as exposed as you can get and there were some vicious gusts; but having been this way before, I passed the warning sign and continued cautiously. Although narrow and rather exposed the path is firm and even though I tend to suffer from vertigo where there is a real danger of falling and have never felt inclined to take up rock climbing, I felt reasonably safe.

The shell of a former look-out tower stands above the jagged headland which is composed of the tough Devonian Hangman Grits.

Hurlstone Point look-out station

The narrow path continued with rocks above and a steep grassy slope below. There are steep cliffs at the  foot of this. Further along is a large rock strewn ampitheatre  flanked by sheer rock faces and screes. This is a corner of Somerset that bears some resemblance to parts of the Pennines or the mountains of Wales.

From here, at low water on a calmer day, I would have been looking at the inaccessible Selworthy Sands. I described the access to the beach in an earlier posting. There is also a photo. On this occasion the tide was well up and the sea was rather lively.

Just beyond the look-out station

Rocky ampitheatre above Selworthy Sands

A small path diverts to the left towards the climber/fisherman's rope access to Selworthy Sands, but the path I wanted to follow curved inland before ascending the rear of the ampitheatre in a series of zigzags. It was narrow and it was not obvious from below where it was going to lead. At one point it appeared that there was a path across some scree. This is not the way to go.

The path winds its way to the top of the ridge between the coastal cliffs and the steep sided Hurlestone Combe. Now this really was a windy place to be! I followed a path below the spine of the ridge on its landward side, glad that the wind was behind me and not in my face. The path led to the meeting of ways at the head of the combe. Just as I reached this, I was battered by a shower of hailstones that came at me horizontally from behind. Now I really was glad I was not trying to go in the opposite direction. Fortunately, this did not last long and I followed familiar tracks back to the car park.

I have not been for a significant walk since then and my feet are getting itchy.

Crowcombe to West Quantoxhead 13 October 2011

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October has so far been remarkably mild in West Somerset with less than average rainfall; good for walking.
The morning started misty and rather gloomy but I was hopeful that the mist would lift and that a walk on the Quantocks would be worthwhile.

Having decided where to go, I parked my car at Crowcombe village hall. The first part of the walk followed the same route as described in a previous post. However, when I cane to the boundary of the open access land, I took a path that headed north west and led to the Quantock ridge path at Halsway Post which marks the top of Halsway Combe. The mist had cleared by now but the sky was generally grey and visibility was not great. However, it was warm for mid-October and the wind was unusually light. In spite of the warm weather, the hills had a distinctly autumnal appearance. Although the trees were still generally green, the heather had finished flowering and the bracken had turned brown.

Lichen and Moss on a stunted hawthorn tree

The ridge path is easy walking with no steep slopes or difficult ground and I made good progress towards West Quantoxhead. Having passed Bicknoller Post and the head of Weacombe Combe, I reached the triangulation pillar on Beacon Hill and stopped for lunch.
Due to limited visibility, views from here were not as good as they can be but I managed to photograph a steam train leaving Williton.

The view to the west from Beacon Hill. A steam train is seen between Williton and Watchet on the West Somerset Railway

After my lunch break I continued past a forestry plantation. The path descended until it met the A39 road. Walking along this narrow, winding road lacking a pavement and verges would be decidedly unpleasant and dangerous so it is fortunate that there is a permissive path running parallel to the road in the direction of Williton. A permissive path is not a public right of way, but the landowner allows the route to be used by the public. This path diverges from the road sufficiently for the traffic noise not to be too unpleasant. On the seaward side of the A39 is St Audries Bay. Here there is a holiday park with static caravans, chalets and various facilities as well as access to the foreshore. Further towards Williton is St Audries church, north of the church and with no public access is St Audries Park. The manor house standing in the park is currently an up market wedding venue.

The roof of St Audries Manor

St Audries Church

On the outside of a sweeping bend in the road lies the Windmill Inn, a fairly large brick built pub.The Windmill serves a good variety of food and drink and walkers and cyclists are welcome. Families are also catered for.

Just to the west of the pub I left the A39 and took the lane that leads towards Weacombe. The road is lined by houses that enjoy an excellent view to the north west but must be exposed when the wind comes from that general direction. Where road turns sharply to the left, I continued straight on along Luckes Lane. This narrow, little used road took me back to Woolston Moor, from where I caught the bus back to Crowcombe.

The walk was just under 7 miles and took me about 3 hours.

Two Rivers Lyn and Summer House Hill -16 September 2011

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The morning of 16 September brought promising weather in the midst of what has been a particularly unsettled spell on West Somerset. I decided to ride on the open top bus that runs between Minehead and Lynmouth. Some cloud did appear along the way and the wind was rather chilly but it stayed dry and visibility was good. The journey is a spectacular one, with breathtaking views both coast and inland. The bus has to negotiate Porlock hill a notorious, long climb onto Exmoor with hairpin bends and a 25% gradient. There is an equally steep descent of Countisbury Hill into Lynmouth.where the road is on the edge of the sheer coastal cliff. Riding on the open upper deck of the bus feels like coming in to land in an aircraft.

On the bus - looking towards Minehead from the top of Porlock Hill

Having landed safely in Lynmouth I had a few hours before getting the bus back.

Having had a look around Lynmouth I walked up the cliff path to Lynton which is a larger town. Of course, it is much easier to hop on the water powered cliff railway, but it felt like cheating! It was quite easy to find the path that runs above the floor of the West Lyn valley to Lyn Bridge. Perched above the river here, is a pub here called "The Bridge". Sadly, it was closed down in the day I passed. I crossed the nearby stone footbridge and took a path leading north. This climb steadily through woods and eventually turns to the east and leads to Summer House Hill. Once clear of the trees there are fine views over Lynton.

Lynton from Summer House Hill

The path continues above the deeply incised valley of the East Lyn. One stretch zig-zags downhill and crosses a stream that tumbles down the steep slope in a series of waterfalls before climbing back up to the rim of the valley.  The path leads eventually to Hillsford Bridge, but I took a turning to the north towards Watersmeet. This branch took me first down a section where wooden steps have been constructed. From here there are fine views across the gorge including rocky outcrops with scree below. The path continued across an open space on less steep land. Here,in an area known as Myrtleberry, the ground has been disturbed by human activity dating from the Iron Age. Having passed the old settlement the path descends through steep woodland to the A39 road that runs along the East Lyn gorge, emerging in a car park on the downstream side of Watersmeet House.

Myrtleberry and crags across the valley

I turned to head west, back towards Lynmouth. Although a main road, the A39 was not particularly busy. However, after a few minutes walk the chance arose to leave the road. A sign indicates that there is access for canoes but the opening in the wall leads down to a path that runs below the road. Following this, a wooden footbridge was soon reached and the walk continued towards Lynmouth along the opposite bank.

The steepness of the gorge and the great size of the boulders in the watercourse give testament to the ferocity with which the water can flow. In 1952, after exceptionally heavy rain, the East and West Lyn rivers rose and carried a mass of boulders and fallen trees down the confined valleys. The torrent and its associated debris, claimed the lives of  34 people and destroyed part of Lynmouth along with other homes and structures in the Lyn valleys.  There is a scale model of Lynmouth, in the Flood Memorial Hall, showing how the town looked pre-flood. This is supported by photographs and newspaper items telling the story.

Footbridge across the East Lyn river

In the absence of a flood the walk back to Lynmouth was a pleasant one. By now the sun was out again so the bus ride back to Minehead was brighter. The walk was just short of 5 miles and took me a leisurely 2hr 30mins

Langham Hill Engine House and Bearland Wood Flue

As earlier blogs tell, I have visited other sites along the West Somerset Mineral Line. Today, with beautiful weather I decided to continue with the exploration of the Brendon Hill iron mines. This was a short walk of about 2 miles. I was following trails indicated on a leaflet that is downloadable from the official web page describing this area. There is also a board in the car park for Chargot Wood on the B3224 road. The tracks are marked by posts.

Firstly I followed the short path through coniferous woods to Langham Hill Engine House. This path is easy and is officially negotiable for wheelchar users. In fact, the engine house was dismantled long ago and re-constructed at Burrow Farm Mine a couple of miles away. Only the foundations and lower parts of the walls remain. Even so, this is an interesting site.

Langham Hill Engine House

There are railings surrounding a rectangular area, presumably where the mine shaft was, but nothing can be seen amongst the vegetation. The steam driven engine here served the purposes of pumping water from the mine and raising wagons full of ore.

There was an aerial ropeway that conveyed the ore to the Mineral Line. A length of rusty steel cable still present at the site is reputedly a relic of this.

I retraced my steps to the car park and found the start of the Miners' trail. This path leads through the woods, in places sharing its route with forestry roads. It is difficult to gain a full impression of the terrain because of the trees, but there are some steep valley sides. The information board shows two adits as well as the Bearland Wood ventilation chimney. I am not sure that I found both adits. The first candidate was where wooden staircases and decking has been constructed to take the route past a steep drop. Below this I could see a depression and hear water running from an opening into a steep sided gully. Because of the steepness of the land around the gully, I was not able to get a good look. This seems to be more of a drainage feature than the entrance to a mine. Further on I found a more convincing adit. Wooden decking has been erected in  front of it so that it is easier to approach in wet conditions. It is not possible to enter the mine. There is a substantial fence and I could see steel bars a few yards inside the tunnel. Looking up, it was possible to see Bearland Wood ventilation chimney through the trees. I could see that I would have a substantial climb to reach this structure.

Entrance to an adit

  The rest of the walk was mostly on a wide forestry track. This was easy walking, but uphill. In fact the route climbs well above the chimney and the latter is reached by making a detour. It is worth the effort though. Apart from the interest in the structure itself, due to a tree free area around the chimney, this is the only place on the Miners' Trail where you can get a good long distance view There are also a couple of wooden seats. It would be a good spot for a picnic.

Bearland Wood ventilation chimney

A fire would be lit in the base of the chimney and this would draw the foul air out of the mine workings below so that fresh air would be pulled in from the entrance. I do not think that flammable gases such as methane were a problem in the iron mines, but smoke from candles and fumes from the use of explosives must have been a hazard.

The rest of the walk, having  retraced the diversion, is along the forestry poad back to the car park.

This was a short walk, well within the capabilities of most people, that provided another part of a picture of what the area was like when the Brendon Hill iron mining was underway.