This is a good short walk for a rainy and overcast day. Selworthy is a short distance past Minehead on the A39. Leaving from the church parking lot, we went up hill and worked our way to the Beacon. The church is worth taking a look at with original features dating back to the 1500’s. One highlight for me was a 1609 copy of “An Apology for the Church of England” by John Jewel. It laid out the case for the Church of England being more Catholic than the Church of Rome and every parish was required to have a copy. Unlike many villages, Selworthy lost nearly as many men in WW2 as WW1. However, like many small villages, Selworthy has sadly lost much of its population since then.
It’s a surprisingly steep climb, steeper than Dunkery Beacon. There’s a side trail to the castle – a neolithic settlement – that we didn’t take. The wooded parts of the path are well covered and somewhat close – even at 13C. However, when it opens up, it is windy and exposed. I valued my windshirt.
The top of Dunkery Beacon is hidden by the clouds in the distance.
Porlock Weir is in the distance (There will be another post about that). There is a herd of belted galloway cattle that grazes the heath.
This shows the trail down.
The village itself is mostly national trust property. We stopped for an excellent cream tea at the Periwinkle Tea room.
The Tearoom is left of centre in this picture.
R. Harrison, Creative Enterprises 