Selworthy Beacon | |
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![]() Selworthy Beacon from Porlock Weir | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 308 m (1,010 ft) |
Prominence | 193 |
Parent peak | Dunkery Beacon |
Coordinates | 51°13′13.69″N 3°32′59.98″W / 51.2204694°N 3.5499944°W |
Geography | |
OS grid | SS918479 |
Climbing | |
Easiest route | Hike |
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 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]
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]
Typical coastal plants are present, such as Sea Campion and Thrift ( Armeria maritima), as well as gorse and heather ( Calluna vulgaris). [2]