Stage Distance: 6 miles (Total Distance: 15.5 miles)
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A dull day with a cold wind blowing. We had seconds to get from the car to the bus stop and made a very undignified start to the walk by running barefoot clutching our boots, coats and bags, much to the amusement of the passengers.
This majority of this stage was through woodland. We ate lunch in Culbone churchyard. Culbone Church is apparently the smallest complete parish church in England at only 35ft long. The scenery between Porlock Weir and Lynmouth was thought to be the inspiration for Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Kubla Khan and The Ancient Mariner, both written while staying on Exmoor. The walk passed through numerous coombes each with their trickling stream; Silcombe Combe, Holmer's Combe, Twitchen Combe. We came across a recent major landslide that had since been made passable again. The walk finished with a long climb up to a very windy County Gate carpark just as it was getting dusk. Lovely views over the Doone Valley.
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This majority of this stage was through woodland. We ate lunch in Culbone churchyard. Culbone Church is apparently the smallest complete parish church in England at only 35ft long. The scenery between Porlock Weir and Lynmouth was thought to be the inspiration for Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Kubla Khan and The Ancient Mariner, both written while staying on Exmoor. The walk passed through numerous coombes each with their trickling stream; Silcombe Combe, Holmer's Combe, Twitchen Combe. We came across a recent major landslide that had since been made passable again. The walk finished with a long climb up to a very windy County Gate carpark just as it was getting dusk. Lovely views over the Doone Valley.
Logistics: Parked at County Gate and caught the 300 bus back to Porlock.
GPS Track: 2 - Porlock Weir to County Gate (20100913).kmz
Images: 2 - Porlock Weir to County Gate
