Walking with Coleridge
Over 200 years ago some of the greatest poetry of the English Language was created by three young friends: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy.
They walked regularly in the Quantock Hills AONB where they were living. Coleridge in Nether Stowey and the Wordsworths nearby at Alfoxton Park.
The Quantocks measures just twelve miles in length and consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands, and agricultural land.
The hills run from the Vale of Taunton Deane in the south, for about 15 miles to the north-west, ending at Kilve and West Quantoxhead on the coast of the Bristol Channel.
They form the western border of Sedgemoor and the Somerset Levels.
From the top of the hills on a clear day, it is possible to see Glastonbury Tor, the Mendips to the east, the Gower Peninsula to the north, the Brendon Hills and Exmoor to the west, and the Blackdown Hills to the south.
Walking
We visited the Quantocks many times to follow in the footsteps of Coleridge.
You can follow the Coleridge Way, a 51-mile walk through the stunning Somerset countryside of the Quantocks, the Brendon Hills and Exmoor.
From Nether Stowey, where Coleridge lived for three years, you’ll walk westbound all the way to Lynmouth.
At Lynmouth the path links with the South West Coast Path.
A delightful 30-mile circular walk can be made by walking from Porlock on the Coleridge Way to Lynmouth and returning along the coast path.
If this is a bit too much, then you should try walking the Quantock Greenway.
This route traces a figure-of-eight that takes in the Quantock Villages of Holford, Crocombe and Triscombe.
The route can be tackled in two-day-long circular walks.
Or head for the village of Holford. A 7-mile walk starting from this village, will take you up the valleys and onto the upland plateaus.
Ramble over the open hills and through the atmospheric woodlands of Holford Combe.
Cool Places to Explore: Hestercombe Gardens | Exmoor National Park | Glastonbury Tor | RSPB Ham Wall.
