Any outing on Exmoor is going to be beautiful, but the experience is infinitely richer and more magical if you have a swim. We firmly believe any walk is enhanced by a dip in wild waters, and that’s the philosophy that underpins our books, the latest of which is Wild Swimming Walks Exmoor and North Devon.
Whether you’re sitting under a waterfall in the East Lyn, plunging into the peaty darkness of Pinkery Pond, or floating among the withies of Porlock Weir, your experience of the landscape is expanded by swimming, and somehow you feel as though you’ve entered another dimension. There are so many special places to explore in Exmoor and West Somerset, and the book is all about sharing them, and enabling people to find them for themselves. And it’s not just about the swimming – we love walking too, and much of the fun lies in devising interesting and varied walking routes.
We’ve been writing guide books together for about ten years. People often think we are married, to which our response is, “yes we are, but to other people!” We first met close on 20 years ago, and became firm friends, united by our love of wild swimming, which back then was still rather a niche activity. In those days, if you were seen swimming outdoors, particularly in the winter, the usual response was “are you mad?”. Now, it’s quite normal to see people taking a dip in rivers and the sea all year round. More and more people are taking up wild swimming, finding it invigorates them physically and mentally, and making new friends and forming strong communities.
We’ve had many adventures – from the sublime to the ridiculous – researching our books. We’ve got stuck in bogs, come up against blocked footpaths, encountered packs of aggressive farm dogs and even, on one occasion, bathed with a dead sheep (not something we wish to repeat). There have been numerous highs, not least in meeting lots of local swimmers and walkers who have helped us in so many ways, whether by advising on routes, highlighting access issues and sharing their favourite spots
The book was enormous fun to research, although the British weather is always a challenge. One weekend we were camping on Exmoor, and experienced the most schizophrenic of conditions (even though it was July and supposedly summer). On the night we arrived it was beautifully warm, the sun was shining, and we ambled along; swimming and taking pictures before retiring to camp for a leisurely barbeque. The next day was a total contrast. There was torrential rain and howling winds, and our eight-mile stomp was very hard going, with our notebooks (and us) soaked and barely legible by the time we got back to camp. Although we managed to nail down the route, we knew we’d have to go back another time to get photos. The next day we were due to research Porlock Weir and Culbone, and felt a bit depressed about the prospect of having to deal with more challenging weather. However, miraculously, the sun came out and it was as though the previous, stormy day had never happened and we actually managed to get some wonderful pictures that day.
We wanted to share one of our walks with you, and of course, it was very difficult to choose! In the end we settled on a walk from Porlock Weir, which surely must be one of the most charming harbours in the entire country. With its quiet channel marked by withies (willow sticks), its trio of cottages on Turkey Island (which isn’t really an island) and its incredible views over to Hurlestone Point, it feels untouched by time. If you want to swim, you need to visit at high tide, when you are likely to find other swimmers who congregate there at around this time. It is the most sublime experience swimming there on a calm day, looking up at the lush woods which cover the cliffs. After, the walk takes you up past the pretty thatched toll house and under two fairy tale tunnels into Culbone Woods and along to St Beuno’s Church, said to be the smallest in England. Then it’s another steep climb out of the woods and back along a minor road with stunning views of the Bristol Channel and over to Wales. The walk then descends via Worthy Wood back to the village.
Directions
1. From the main car park, cross the road and take the path to the right of the Ship Inn, signposted ‘Culbone Church’. Follow the signed coast path round to the right and uphill. Go through fields and a wood. You reach a road where you turn right following the sign for coast path and Culbone Church. Ignore track to Worthy Combe and stay on the road bearing right.
0.5 miles
2. At the distinctive curved toll building turn right, under the small arch, signed for coast path and Culbone. Follow the path as it passes through a tunnel with a turret and past another tunnel on the left. The path starts to zig-zag up the hill. Keep following it as it ascends and descends through the woods.
1.4 miles
3. You arrive at Culbone Church. After a look round, stand with your back to the church entrance and walk straight ahead to the end of the graveyard, where you’ll find a small wooden gate on the left with an inscription to Stephen John Loader. Go through the gate and turn right following the sign for Silcombe Farm. Ascend through the wood.
0.3 miles
4. Emerge out of the wood at a T-junction. Turn left following the sign for coast path, Silcombe Farm and Lynmouth. Walk uphill along the track and then emerge into fields with great views back to Hurlstone Point.
0.3 miles
5. You reach a lane. Turn left here for Ash Farm (the sign is tiny; do not go straight on to Silcombe). Follow the lane, ignoring a track to the right, and following signs for Parsonage Farm. Pass through Parsonage Farm, with its chocolate-box buildings, and carry on along the lane.
0.8 miles
6. Pass the entrances to Ash Farm and then Yarner Farm, both on the left. Keep going straight, following the sign for Porlock Weir via Worthy Toll Road. Follow the lane as it descends and then hairpins to the left, again following the sign for Porlock Weir via Toll Road.
0.8 miles
7. You reach the start of the toll road. Fork right off the road here, following the sign for Porlockford and Porlock. Ignore the almost immediate left turn for the bridleway and follow the path ahead through the woods for Porlockford.
0.4 miles
8. Turn left off the main path, following the ‘Public Bridleway and Porlock Weir’ sign. Follow the path downhill; after a short distance you come to a T-junction with a wider track. Turn left along the track, following the bridleway sign with the blue arrows and continue on the track as it then bears right.
0.5 miles
9. Look for a hairpin left-hand turn off the path, signposted ‘Bridleway and Porlock Weir’. This turn is easy to miss; make sure you take it, or else the path will take you right away from where you need to be. Descend the narrow path down through the woods. At the road, turn right and then take the next left by the Somerset County sign, which leads you back down to Porlock Weir.
0.5 miles
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wildthingspublishing.com
