🥾 Walking route
Dunkery and Horner Wood circular walk
Somerset
- 📏 4.5 km · 2.8 mi
- ⛰ +279 m
- ⏱ 1 hr 30 min
- 🐕 On lead
Walk stats
- Distance4.5 km · 2.8 mi
- Elevation+279 m
- Duration1 hr 30 min
- DifficultyModerate
- Route typeCircular
- TerrainWoodland paths, stream crossings and open moorland tracks with a sustained climb
- Best seasonLate spring to autumn, with October colour in the oak woods
- DogsDog friendly, but keep on lead near livestock and ground-nesting birds
About this walk
Starting from the village of Luccombe on the northern fringe of Exmoor, this compact circular walk climbs steadily through Sideway Wood before dropping to cross East Water, one of the small streams that feeds the Horner Water system. The path then rises through Hollow Combe, gaining height across open ground with views opening out over the wooded combes below.
The route reaches Webber's Post, a well-known viewpoint on the edge of the Dunkery estate, before turning back through Parsons Wood and descending into the quiet East Water Valley. Ancient sessile oaks, moss-cushioned boulders and clear streams give the woodland sections a distinctive Exmoor character.
Nearby you can extend or vary the walk with detours towards the Jubilee Hut, Aller Combe, Cloutsham Cleeve, Allercombe Wood or Horner Hill. The steady ascent of around 279 metres over 4.5 kilometres makes it a rewarding half-day outing, returning through fields and lanes to Luccombe's small cluster of cottages and church.
Route map
Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap footpath data. Numbered markers are waypoints on the route; amber star markers are points of interest a short detour away.
Waypoints along the route
7 waypoints along the way
- 1
Luccombe (start and finish)
- Start / finish
Start and finish of this circular route.
- 2
Sideway Wood
- 3
East Water
- 4
Hollow Combe
- 5
Webber's Post
- 6
Parsons Wood
- 7
East Water Valley
Worth a short detour
Points of interest just off the route, look for the amber markers on the map.
Jubilee Hut
~297 m off the route
Aller Combe
~283 m off the route
Cloutsham Cleeve
~289 m off the route
Allercombe Wood
~344 m off the route
Horner Hill
~401 m off the route
Route & waypoint data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).