Week 1 Day 3 - Porlock Weir to Lynmouth

We are back on the planned route today, but one day later than planned. The winds have eased but it is still quite showery and damp underfoot. We leave the car at Porlock Weir and set off up the hill towards Culbone along with several other groups of walkers.


We take coffee in the porch of Culbone Church - it is raining so we can't sit outside! As we arrive, one group of three is just leaving and whilst we are there one group of three and another couple arrive and take a look around the church which is purported to be the smallest parish church in England.


We continue along the coast path through Culbone Wood, Embelle Wood and Yenworthy Wood. We stop for lunch at Sister's Fountain which is a memorial to the two daughters of the first owner of Glenthorne House - an isolated mansion on the coast.

We proceed past the entrance to the house out onto the cliffs of the Glenthorne Estate. The cliffs are covered in rhododendrons as far as the eye can see. These must be a splendid sight in the early summer when the blooms are at their peak. We have to pick our way around a recent landslide and make our way to the access road to Foreland Lighthouse.


We descend to almost sea level before climbing up to the village of Countisbury on top of the famous Countisbury Hill and descend alongside the road down into Lynmouth.

We have a cup of tea in the town before catching the bus back to Porlock. The bus is some 15 minutes late in arriving and we are worried we will miss our connection to Porlock Weir. But all is well and we are back at the car around 6pm. After changing our shoes, we cross to The Bottom Ship - the pub in Porlock Weir - for an early supper washed down with Exmoor bitter before driving back to camp.



Distance completed today: 12.3 miles
Total distance completed: 28.1 miles (4.5%)