Selworthy Beacon

Selworthy Beacon is a hill and Marilyn of Exmoor in Somerset, England. It lies within the boundaries of Exmoor National Park, to the north of the village of Selworthy and northwest of Minehead. A road leads to the top, where there is a National Trust plaque and a view of the south coast of Wales across the Bristol Channel.[1] The South West Coast Path also climbs the hill and ends slightly shy of the summit.[2][3]

Selworthy Beacon
Selworthy Beacon from Porlock Weir
Highest point
Elevation308 m (1,010 ft)
Prominence193
Parent peakDunkery Beacon
Coordinates51°13′13.69″N 3°32′59.98″W
Geography
Selworthy Beacon is located in England
Selworthy Beacon
Selworthy Beacon
OS gridSS918479
Climbing
Easiest routeHike

Geography

Selworthy Beacon is located in northern Somerset in southwestern England, about 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Minehead, north of the village of Selworthy.[4] Selworthy Beacon is one of three peaks in Somerset, the other two being Dunkery Beacon and Periton Hill.[5] Its elevation is 1,013 feet (309 m).[6] Behind the hill, there are precipitous cliffs.[7] Selworthy Beacon is situated within the National Trust-owned Holnicote Estate. Nearby are the Macmillan Way, Coleridge Way, and a fourteenth-century tithe barn. A signposted walking route to the hill goes through a wooded area of Allerford and Holnicote Plantations,[6][8] and is 2 miles (3 km) northeast of Porlock.[5]

History
Acland memorial cross
Wind and Weather Hut erected in 1878 by John Barton Arundel Acland for use by the Acland Family on Sunday walks

Near the summit are a series of cairns, thought to be the remains of round barrows,[9] and the British Iron Age Bury Castle.[10] The round cairns have been designated as a scheduled monument.[11] In the sixteenth century, Selworthy Beacon was (as its name implies) the site of a beacon to warn of impending invasions.[2] The mausoleum of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland is located about 0.25 miles (400 m) from Selworthy Beacon.[4]

Wildlife

Typical coastal plants are present, such as Sea Campion and Thrift (Armeria maritima), as well as gorse and heather (Calluna vulgaris).[2]

References
  1. "Selworthy Beacon". BBC. 17 August 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  2. "Walk — Selworthy Beacon". Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  3. "Walk 1221 - Selworthy Beacon & North Hill from Bossington". Walking Britain. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  4. Ward, Charles Slegg (1897). North Devon Including West Somerset and North Cornwall from Exmoor to the Scilly Isles: With a Description of the Various Approaches (Public domain ed.). Dulau. pp. 51–.
  5. Turnbull, Ronald (9 September 2010). Three Peaks, Ten Tors: And other challenging walks in the UK. Cicerone Press Limited. pp. 98–. ISBN 978-1-84965-147-9.
  6. James Roberts (1 January 1997). Walking in Somerset. Cicerone Press Limited. pp. 75–. ISBN 978-1-85284-253-6. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  7. Hancock, Frederick (1897). The Parish of Selworthy in the County of Somerset: Some Notes on Its History (Public domain ed.). Barnicott and Pearce. pp. 7–.
  8. Drew, Keith; Andrews, Robert (1 March 2012). The Rough Guide to Bath, Bristol & Somerset: Includes Salisbury and Stonehenge. Rough Guides. pp. 268–. ISBN 978-1-4053-9381-2.
  9. Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy (1992). A Field Guide to Somerset Archaeology. Wimborne, Dorset: Dovecote Press. p. 101. ISBN 0-946159-94-7.
  10. Dunning, Robert (1980). Somerset and Avon. Edinburgh: John Bartholomew & Son. p. 125. ISBN 0-7028-8380-8.
  11. Historic England. "Round cairn cemetery, 570m east of Selworthy Beacon (1020794)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
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