Pormin one

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The walk over the hill between these two towns is a great hike and I know it well and have walked it often. However there are various ways to do it and this is not the best, so I only give it four stars. There is a far more beautiful route onto/off Bossington Hill which is only a little longer and avoids the long, slightly boring stretch enclosed bridleway at the Porlock end, and the rocky path up onto/off the hill. Also Note that the plot underestimates the length of the zig-zag walk into/out of Minehead. I will post this route, and also a third, gentler and lower level option (which is actually a bit more direct).

I walked the route starting in Minehead, late December in a strong westerly wind. The climb out of Minehead is steep. With steps at first then a steep incline. The route zig zags up the hill but is reasonably easy to follow. But a tough start. Quite exposed on the top at Selworthy Beacon. A steep descent down Lynch Combe then easy walking through Bossington and Porlock.At Lower farm Bossington the route is showing passing on the east side of the cottage. This route although shown on os maps appears to be closed off. It is however easy to follow the route around the west side - also shown as right of way.

My review will be somewhat shorter than the very detailed one below. I walked from Porlock to Minehead in the spring. It is in the most part well signposted and of good level surface. In this direction the one challenging part was going up the hill past Bossington up to Selworthy beacon. Good haul up there but worth it for the views over the sea and Moor. The route down into Minehead was a bit confusing in terms of ensuring I was on the correct path, but all were well signposted and all led to Minehead. Plenty of refreshment once there, but I didn't see another open shop or toilet en route.

Walked this route whilst on holiday with my two teenage sons - in the Minehead to Porlock direction. Realistically any walk between Minehead and Porlock is going to be challenging because there is a huge hill (or group of them) in between unless you take the very long way round following the A39.

Starting out of Minehead is reasonably straightforward - along the sea front. The turning up North Hill is reasonably easy to find (there is a knee height road name style sign in the lane - the brown sign on the other side of the road is less visible). You then work your way up a series of zig zag paths towards the top. Its worth being aware that the supplied GPX track just blasts straight down the zigzags which makes it a little tricky working out when you've got high enough to start heading along the hill. Its tempting to confuse Beacon Road with North Hill Road and set off into the woods too early. Once that is out of the way the route is pretty easy to follow (at this point the GPS on my phone started to sulk and suggest we were actually in South Wales - which is a warning if you rely on something like What Three Words in an emergency - make sure its not using the nearest phone mast to locate rather than GPS!). The track through the woods onto the top is fairly wide so comfortable to walk side by side. On this first part there isn't much of a view due to the trees.

After about 3.5km you'll reach a small building below the path and then a concrete parking area. From here the visibility out to sea improves. The route continues along inland (there is an option at one point to take a "rugged coastal path" but we decline that in order to stay faithful to this route. At about 5.5km you could take a different path over Selworthy beacon which offers higher views but the route as given skirts the northern edge. This at least minimises the climbing!

Once past Selworthy Beacon, the route starts to drop towards Bossington. We made a navigation error at about 8km thinking we were a km further on so took a left turn. It became clear this wasn't right and a phone reboot got the GPS back on track and we were able to correct. We did encounter some roaming cattle around here so be wary if you are nervous. After a bit more zig zag you drop into the V at the head of a valley, and follow that then down next to a small stream. In some ways this is a lovely path down through the trees, and its striking how dense the canopy is, with little growing underneath. However the path soon seems to feel like a dry river bed with a lot of rocks all over it. Its not the most comfortable walking.

At about 9.5km you'll turn off right across a field and head towards the village of Bossington via another wooded section alongside Horner Water. Eventually you cross a bridge which comes to a car park with toilets (not sure there are always open). A bit of road walking follows here. At this point if you're pushed for time I'd be tempted to take the lane back into Porlock rather than the suggested path. The path as given in the route is longer and because its high hedges very close on either side offers little in the way of visual benefit. At the time of walking (mid August) the brambles were starting to protrude across the path a bit - unfortunately without the compensation of blackberries for sustanance.

Eventually you emerge into an area of housing and following the route takes you along a seeming dead end road. However at the end a path drops onto a lane which you then follow into Porlock itself, emerging in the centre of the village.

All in all this was an enjoyable walk and I'd be happy to do it again. It took us 3.5 hours including a few food breaks (weather wasn't really good for a prolonged picnic so we had a few breaks instead), but that's three fairly fit active people. There are other options available here - I suspect the rocky path could be pleasantly avoided by walking round the foot of the hills to Selworthy village (itself worth a visit with its thatched cottages) and then up on to the top. Similarly at the Minehead end it might be tempting to continue right to the end of Quay road, out through the park and find a way up from there given the visibility there being better than up in the woods.

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