Dunkery Beacon
Encyclopedia
Dunkery Beacon is the summit of Dunkery Hill, and the highest point on Exmoor
and in Somerset
, England. It is also the highest point in southern England outside Dartmoor
.
The site is part of the North Exmoor Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI), is part of the Dunkery & Horner Woods National Nature Reserve
and is a candidate for Special Area of Conservation
, Section 3 Moor and Heath and Common Land status.
sedimentary rock, as can be seen in the red soil.
There are several Bronze Age
burial mounds at or near the summit: two of the larger ones are Joaney How and Robin How. However these have been damaged over many years and plans have been made to restore and protect them.
Dunkery Beacon was given to the National Trust
in 1935 by Sir Thomas Acland
, Colonel Wiggin and Allan Hughes along with the rest of the Holnicote Estate
an event commemorated by the summit memorial cairn
.
is higher above sea level at 1924 feet (586 m). Based on the formula 'distance of hill from its nearest higher neighbour in km squared, multiplied by its height in metres', Dunkery is ranked 23rd in the UK in terms of dominance, and is a Marilyn. The nearest higher hill is Yes Tor
37 miles (60 km) away.
It lies just 4 miles (6.4 km) from the Bristol Channel
at Porlock
. The shortest route of ascent goes from the car park at Dunkery Gate, and is just 0.75 miles (1.2 km) long. There are extensive views from the summit, including both the Bristol
and English Channel
coasts, the Brecon Beacons
including Pen Y Fan
, Bodmin Moor
, Dartmoor
, the Severn Bridge
s and Cleeve Hill
86 miles (138 km) away in Gloucestershire
.
and in the summer this gives it a deep purple colour. Ling and bell heather, gorse
, sessile oak
, ash
, rowan
, hazel
, bracken
, mosses, liverworts, lichens and fern
s all grow here or in surrounding woodland, as well as some unique whitebeam
species. Exmoor ponies
, red deer
, pied flycatchers, wood warblers
, lesser spotted woodpeckers
, redstarts
, dippers
, snipe
, skylark
s and kestrel
s are some of the fauna to be found here and in nearby Horner Woods. Horner Woods are also the home to 14 of the 16 UK bat
species, which include barbastelle
and Bechstein's bats
.
Exmoor
Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...
and in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England. It is also the highest point in southern England outside Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
.
The site is part of the North Exmoor Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI), is part of the Dunkery & Horner Woods National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
and is a candidate for Special Area of Conservation
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive , also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora...
, Section 3 Moor and Heath and Common Land status.
History
Dunkery is composed of DevonianDevonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
sedimentary rock, as can be seen in the red soil.
There are several Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
burial mounds at or near the summit: two of the larger ones are Joaney How and Robin How. However these have been damaged over many years and plans have been made to restore and protect them.
Dunkery Beacon was given to the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
in 1935 by Sir Thomas Acland
Acland Baronets
thumb|250px|Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th BaronetThere have been four Baronetcies created for members of the Acland family, two in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom....
, Colonel Wiggin and Allan Hughes along with the rest of the Holnicote Estate
Holnicote Estate
Holnicote Estate is a National Trust property consisting of of Exmoor National Park situated in West Somerset, England. The property has been in the ownership of the National Trust since 1932, when it was donated by the Acland family....
an event commemorated by the summit memorial cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
.
Location
At 1705 feet (520 m) Dunkery Beacon is the highest geographical point in Somerset, although the tip of the Mendip TV MastMendip TV Mast
The Mendip transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated on the summit of Pen Hill, part of the Mendip Hills range in Somerset, England, at above sea level. The station is located in St Cuthbert Out civil parish in Mendip district...
is higher above sea level at 1924 feet (586 m). Based on the formula 'distance of hill from its nearest higher neighbour in km squared, multiplied by its height in metres', Dunkery is ranked 23rd in the UK in terms of dominance, and is a Marilyn. The nearest higher hill is Yes Tor
Yes Tor
Yes Tor is the second highest point on Dartmoor, Devon, South West England, at above sea level. Together with nearby High Willhays they are the only two peaks above south of the English Peak District National Park....
37 miles (60 km) away.
It lies just 4 miles (6.4 km) from the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
at Porlock
Porlock
Porlock is a coastal village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in a deep hollow below Exmoor, west of Minehead. The parish, which includes Hawkcombe and Doverhay, has a population of 1,377....
. The shortest route of ascent goes from the car park at Dunkery Gate, and is just 0.75 miles (1.2 km) long. There are extensive views from the summit, including both the Bristol
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
and English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
coasts, the Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of popular peaks south of Brecon, including South Wales' highest mountain, Pen y Fan, and which together form the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park...
including Pen Y Fan
Pen y Fan
Pen y Fan is the highest peak in South Wales and southern Britain, situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park. At above sea-level, it is also the highest peak in Britain south of the Snowdonia mountain range...
, Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....
, Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
, the Severn Bridge
Severn Bridge
The Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol, England, and Monmouthshire in South Wales, via Beachley, a peninsula between the River Severn and River Wye estuary. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and...
s and Cleeve Hill
Cleeve Hill
Cleeve Hill is the highest point both in the Cotswolds hill range and in the county of Gloucestershire, at . It commands a clear view to the west, over Cheltenham and the racecourse, over the River Severn and into Wales; and to the north over Winchcombe. It is a conspicuous outcrop on the edge of...
86 miles (138 km) away in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
.
Ecology
The hill is blanketed in heatherEricaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
and in the summer this gives it a deep purple colour. Ling and bell heather, gorse
Gorse
Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...
, sessile oak
Sessile Oak
Quercus petraea , the Sessile Oak, also known as the Durmast Oak, is a species of oak native to most of Europe, and into Anatolia.-Description:...
, ash
Ash tree
Fraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...
, rowan
Rowan
The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies...
, hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
, bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
, mosses, liverworts, lichens and fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s all grow here or in surrounding woodland, as well as some unique whitebeam
Whitebeam
The whitebeams are members of the Rosaceae family, comprising subgenus Aria of genus Sorbus, and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera Sorbus, Torminaria and Chamaemespilus. They are deciduous trees with simple or lobed leaves, arranged alternately...
species. Exmoor ponies
Exmoor pony
The Exmoor pony is a horse breed native to the British Isles, where some still roam as semi-feral livestock on Exmoor, a large area of moorland in Devon and Somerset in southwest England. The Exmoor is one of the British Isles mountain and moorland pony breeds, having conformation similar to that...
, red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
, pied flycatchers, wood warblers
Wood Warbler
The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...
, lesser spotted woodpeckers
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is assigned to the genus Dendrocopos ....
, redstarts
Common Redstart
The Common Redstart , or often simply Redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus...
, dippers
White-throated Dipper
The White-throated Dipper , also known as the European Dipper or just Dipper is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecies, based primarily on colour differences, particularly of the pectoral band...
, snipe
Common Snipe
The Common Snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia...
, skylark
Skylark
The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...
s and kestrel
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".This species...
s are some of the fauna to be found here and in nearby Horner Woods. Horner Woods are also the home to 14 of the 16 UK bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
species, which include barbastelle
Barbastelle
The Barbastelle , also known as the Western Barbastelle, is a European bat. It has a short nose, small eyes and wide ears.It is rare throughout its range...
and Bechstein's bats
Bechstein's Bat
Bechstein's Bat is a species of vesper bat in the Vespertilionidae family.It can be found in the following countries: Austria, Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Liechtenstein, Republic of Macedonia,...
.
External links
- A computer generated 360 degree summit panorama from the top of Dunkery Beacon index
