Here I Go Again

Posted bynickletjogPosted inPreparation

LETJOG PEAK No 25: Dunkery Beacon, Somerset (519 metres)

Walk Date: Thursday 8 June 2023

Exmoor red-earth on our path out to Dunkery Beacon

So off again, into the second half now, of my LETJOG Peaks challenge. I travelled down yesterday afternoon to the lovely Somerset town of Wiveliscombe (or Wivey, to the locals) for a most convivial evening with friends Rick and Eleanor: the pair are stalwarts now of my venture, having already conquered with me the heights of Norfolk and Northamptonshire. Last night involved some serious business, unconnected with my quest, namely lending vicarious support to West Ham United in their pursuit of Europa Conference League glory against Fiorentina of Italy. Sitting amongst the locals of The Bear pub in Wivey, the Hammers duly delivered.

Flying the flag over Wootton Courtenay

Hence this morning, a little later than usual, the three of us arose for the short drive to Wootton Courtenay, to take on the climb to the peak of Somerset, Dunkery Beacon. At 519 metres, and with a prominence of over 400 metres, the mount checks in at Number 15 on the list of England’s highest County Tops, so a strenuous walk was certainly in prospect.

Today’s walk, depicted by the blue line, took us up from Wootton Courtenay through woodland to the open moors and to Dunkery Beacon, before turning for our eastward descent along lanes and tracks fringed with verdant spring growth; 13 varied miles across some of southern England’s finest countryside

Our cause was aided this morning with some high cloud cover that held off the heat for a while, and then by a stiff cooling breeze as we made our way over the moorland. By afternoon, as we descended in the lee of the hills the sun broke through and we certainly felt the summer heat amongst the sultry shelter of the tree-lined lanes and tracks back to Wootton Courtenay. A fine day, with our one small complaint being the humidity and haze that curtailed the distant views over the surrounding hills and across the Bristol Channel to the just-visible shoreline of South Wales. Here are a few snaps of today’s comely ramble.

The geology of Exmoor comprises an anticline, or dome, of folded sedimentary rocks, mainly sandstones, from the Devonian Period – around Wootton Courtenay these outcrop as a fine-grained red sandstone that has been used in many local buildings, including All Saints Church
Our sunken path out of the village . . .
. . . then across pastureland . . .
. . . and heading up to the moors on a russet track
Exmoor ponies . . .
. . . and one of several drinker moth caterpillars crossing our path
Heading onto the moorland . . .
. . . up the path to the summit cairn
Made it! The summit of Dunkery Beacon (or ‘Hill’, as the plaque would have it), at 519 metres of elevation.
A view to the north, taken during our descent, with the hazy blue of the Bristol Channel, and just visible the far-off coastline of Wales (you will have to take my word on the latter)
Upland grazing for these chestnut cattle
Foxgloves by the wayside . . .
. . . some vivid ferns . . .
. . . and these small blue blooms of germander (or ‘bird’s eye’) speedwell
Mature beech trees rooted in an ancient wall
Crossing the ford at Coombe Hollow
The path back down to Wootton Courtenay . . .
. . . and back in the village – red sandstone and thatch

What a super day, and a great pleasure to spend it once again with friends Eleanor and Rick, whose Airbnb cottage in Wiveliscombe I have taken advantage of for a couple of days. Thank you both so much for hosting my trip, for joining me on my latest LETJOG Peaks ramble, and for making the walk all the more memorable.

Sharing a drink before a very fine dinner in the White Hart in Wiveliscombe (under new ownership since my last visit here, almost exactly two years ago on my LETJOG trek)

Somerset born Amy Wadge is a folk-rock singer-songwriter, whose collaborations include co-writing with Ed Sheeran the five tracks of his 2010 ‘Songs I Wrote With Amy’ EP, as well as a writing credit on Sam Ryder’s ‘Space Man’ that came runner-up in last year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Wadge is also a solo performer, and I have borrowed her title ‘Here I Go Again’ as my Blog heading for today, lifted from her 2018 soundtrack to the TV series ‘Keeping Faith’.

One for another day! At the start of the 630-mile South West Coast Path in Minehead, where we stopped off for a short visit (and a well-earned ice-cream)

One thought on “Here I Go Again”

  1. What a glorious walk the three of you had, really beautiful countryside.
    The wildflowers are Germander speedwell.
    “Also known as : Bird’s-eye speedwell, Cat’s eyes”

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