Samaritans Way South West
The Samaritans Way South West is a 100-mile long-distance footpath running the length of Somerset, and extending a few miles into Devon, where it links with the South West Coast Path.
The path is only partially waymarked, but has been well mapped by the Bristol Ramblers.
Development
The route was developed from 1993 by the Bristol Ramblers, a member group of the Ramblers Association, with the intention of providing a route for raising money for The Samaritans, a charity which helps those with suicidal thoughts. There were at the time particular concerns for farmers facing destitution as farm gate prices have collapsed. In the first seven years to 2000 the Bristol Ramblers busied themselves finding and reporting blocked footpaths to clear the route between the Mendip and Quantock Hills, and a guidebook was published in 2000.
The route was officially opened on 21 April 2004 by the Vice Chairman of the Ramblers Association and the Chief Executive of the Samaritans, the charity to which the route was dedicated, and by a farmer from Gloucestershire who headed the Farmers Helpline.[1] The route was marked on Ordnance Survey maps until 2006, when the local authority had it removed.
The path linking the Cotswolds, the Mendips, the Polden Hills, the Quantocks, the Brendons, Exmoor and the North Devon Coast.
Route
The Samaritans Way South West starts at the Clifton Suspension Bridge (a notorious suicide spot) on the Avon Gorge in Bristol, at Somerset's northern border, and runs south.
It crosses the Chew Valley with its lakes, over the Mendip Hills to Cheddar Gorge and Cheddar. It then heads out across the Somerset Levels to Glastonbury and Street and on through Bridgwater and Goathurst to the Quantock Hills, with a scenic ridge walk passing through the villages Crowcombe and Stogumber and around the Brendon Hills.
The route then crosses Exmoor through the villages of Monksilver, Luxborough, Winsford and Exford to the Doone Valley, Badgworthy Water and Malmsmead to Brendon.
Crossing into Devon, the route follows the East Lyn River and climbs Myrtleberry Cleave to drop down to Lynton and finally Lynmouth.[2][3]
The purpose of the walk was not only pleasure but also to help the rural community especially the small dairy farmers in distress because of the collapse of farm incomes in dairy farming.[4]
Outside links
- The Samaritans Way South West - Bristol Ramblers
References
- ↑ History of the Samaritans Way South West
- ↑ "Samaritans Way South West, Bristol to Lynton". Long Distance Walkers Association. https://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Samaritans+Way+South+West%2C+Bristol+to+Lynton. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ↑ "Samaritans Way". Bristol Ramblers. http://www.bristolramblers.org.uk/walks2/routes-to-walk/samaritans-way.html. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ↑ "Press Release". Bristol Ramblers. http://86.54.100.205/news/press_release.html. Retrieved 27 October 2015.