Exmoor Pubs & Walks - A Ten Mile Walk from Dunkery to the Lion at Timberscombe

This route would appear to be, as we would say in the West Country, “arse back’ards.” Starting with a lengthy descent from one of Exmoor’s highest points and away from its most famous skyline does appear slightly dotty. Remember, however, that our major objective is to end up in a pub, and the Dunkery region is a desert in this respect.
There is no harm, either, in being able to start from a National Park car park. Dumping your vehicle where you will not irritate both fellow drivers and local farmers can be a sticky problem on the Moor. We abandoned our truck in the park intended for trippers making a final, bold assault on Dunkery Beacon, and perversely set off in the opposite direction down the bridle path towards Wootton Courtenay. It was a lovely sunny day with a north westerly wind to clear the air. There are wonderful views away to the Bristol Channel, and you can see the whole of your walk mapped out in front of you. To your left is the hog’s back which runs between Wootton Courtenay and Dunster, and to your right is the vale which leads to Timberscombe.
Not far down the track, typical of the Dunkery region, rough with clusters of loose stone, we passed a ride coming the other way; the insouciant guide in an old check flat cap and his charges in their crash helmets, plonking along happily on the stable’s safest conveyances. A little further on a herd of a dozen hinds crossed our path and loitered for a moment, frozen on the skyline. The path eventually entered some woodland and led down to the lane at Brockwell which takes you along towards Wootton Courtenay.

Wootton Courtenay is a spick and span little village with smart chichi properties and both a shop and a church. We walked through the village and, after passing the church, struck off left up a steep footpath through a meadow. At the top there was a grand view of the village and the way we had come, and then we climbed the stile into woodland leading on to the top of Wootton Common. You need to ignore any path which is not uphill, and then your efforts will be rewarded by gaining the broad path which runs along the ridge of the Common. (The Macmillan Way “Mac” signs here seem to have been put up for those travelling from east to west only.)

There are grand views to both sides of the path, particularly towards the Bristol Channel, whose charms are probably best appreciated at a distance. From Wootton Common even I, who spent five testing boyhood years at a prep school in Burnham-on-Sea, may sympathise with Coleridge’s vision of “deep romantic chasms” on the Severn estuary. We surprised an enormous grass snake, asleep in the middle of the path, which slid away into the bracken. When the woodland on your right becomes conifers, you turn right and walk down through the woods until a farm track tips you out into the lane. A cheery gentleman on a bicycle politely confirmed that we should turn right. No wonder he looked so smug on his wheels. A few yards further on we came across his jogging wife puffing along behind him. We took the next left away from Wootton Courtenay and walked along a narrow lane until, turning right on to the main Minehead to Wheddon Cross road just past a cricket ground, we came to Timberscombe.

An unassuming passageway leads you into the pleasant, narrow bar of the Lion Inn. This is a pub which caters as much for locals as tourists with a games room with a pool table and a skittle alley. As well as the usual battery of electric pumps, there is St Austell’s “Proper Job” in addition to the more common “Tribute”. We had enjoyed “Proper Job” previously at Wood’s Bar in Dulverton, and did not hesitate to down two more pints each in the “Lion” where it is very well kept and served cellar cool. “Proper Job” is very much in the St Austell style of lemony, fruity, off-sweet ales, and makes a change from the sharper, hoppy bitters of the Exmoor brewery. There is an extensive lunch and evening menu. There are some original fillings for inexpensive ciabattas for a light lunch, and plenty of mains around the £7 mark, to be enjoyed in an attractive room off the bar with scrubbed tables. Sitting at the bar enjoying our liquid lunch, we decided that our project should extend itself to having supper in the pubs where the food looked really attractive. A further report on the Lion’s grub will follow in due course.
We stepped out into the sunlight and made our way westwards out of the village until turning into a broad path which ran behind the village school playing field. The path crossed the main road and led us over a footbridge across the rushing River Avill and through the fields by a well-worn path back to Wootton Courtenay. When we reached a lane on the edge of the village, we turned right but soon turned left up a shaded path between high hedges. Soon another path crossed at right angles and we turned left up some steps before emerging on to a large playing field with a traditional wooden pavilion. What exactly the sporting element of Wootton Courtenay plays there remains a mystery although the position of the well-tended square of grass meant it couldn’t be for cricket. Anyone for tennis, perhaps? There were no white lines to help us in our quest. The path led into the next field where there was a windsock and a neatly mown runway for some local Biggles.
Where the path ended in a lane, we turned left and almost immediately right, and we were back on the moor proper. Soon we had passed through the woodland and rejoined the track leading back towards the Dunkery summit. Here the arse-backards nature of the expedition became somewhat daunting. It’s a steepish climb, especially at the end of the day with two pints of Proper Job swashing about inside you. When necessary, stop on the pretence of admiring the superb views.