~Porlock Weir & Culbone~
4th June 2013
Porlock Weir
Scroll down for photos and a description of the day....
Williton Railway Station
We are on holiday in Dulverton, Somerset. On the way to Porlock Weir for a walk, we call in at Williton Station for a reminder of the sight, sound and smells of the West Somerset Railway. Here, 2-6-0 "mogul" No. 9351 arrives from Minehead.
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No. 7828 Norton Manor |
Williton Railway Station |
The West Somerset Railway is one of the UK's premier preserved railways. Check out their website and spend some time on the "old" Taunton to Minehead line.
Horner Tea Gardens
On the way ot Porlock, we called in at Horner and found two tearooms. The Horner Tea Gardens are nestled under the woodland and offer a great setting for a cup of tea and a light lunch.
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Horner Tea Gardens |
Female Chaffinch |
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Hurlstone Point
Porlock Weir is a short distance west of the village of Porlock, has a large car park and offers a good start point for walks into the coastal woodlands. Here Hurlstone Point is seen across Porlock Bay.
Porlock Weir
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Yearnor Wood
The Bristol Channel
A break in the line of trees offers a view of Bristol Channel, otherwise it's dense deciduous woodland all the way to Culbone.
Culbone Church
The church is reputed to be the smallest, complete parish church in England. It once served a population of charcoal burners and a greater number of farm workers. A colony of lepers also resided in the woodland setting. Occasional services still take place. Only a narrow private road gets anywhere near this place, you really have to walk if you want to pay a visit.
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St. Beuno's Church, Culbone |
Local Robin |
Visitors can gain entry to the church, leave a donation and a small selection of cards are for sale.
Karen at Culbone
Many of the graves belong to the surname "Red". One is for Richard "Red" Richards. There followed a navigational error, but in fact our route out of the woods was therefore less steep and still put us back on the correct path for Silcombe Farm.
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Hurlstone Point |
Silcombe Farm |
Silcombe Farm is the furthest point from Porlock Weir. The next part of the walk is along a narrow road in the direction of the "Worthy Toll Road". About 40 minutes of road walking, but fear not! motor traffic is at most, infrequent.
Parsonage Farm
The Road Walk
The Bristol Channel
The view across to South Wales above the coastal woodlands.
Local Directions
The toll road doesn't welcome walkers; but there is a good, waymarked route through Worthy Wood, all the way back to Porlcok Weir.
The idea for this walk came from the "pathfinder guidebook": Exmoor & The Quantocks. Walk 4. Available from all good bookstores!
Walkers: Karen & Me
Time taken: 3 hours 10 minutes over a distance of about 6 miles.
Route: Porlock Weir, Yearnor Wood, Culbone, Silcombe Farm, Parsonage Farm, top of the toll road, Worthy Wood, Porlock Weir.
Weather: Unbroken sunshine and pleasantly warm.
Refreshments: Pre-walk light lunch at the Horner Tea Gardens. Fab!
Horner Tea Gardens - TripAdvisor
All photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2013 ©
Take me back to the start ....