The Macmillan Way West is a long-distance footpath in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. It runs for from

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives ...

in Somerset to

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

in Devon. It is one of the Macmillan Ways and connects with the main Macmillan Way at Castle Cary. The path follows the valley of the River Cary to Somerton, then crosses the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to the south ...

to North Petherton. From

Langport Langport is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton, Somerset, Somerton. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 3,578. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, ...

to a point near Westonzoyland the route coincides with the River Parrett Trail. From North Petherton the path climbs the

Quantock Hills The Quantock Hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England, consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land. They were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, designated in 1956. Natural England have desi ...

, and follows the ridge of the hills for several miles, passing their highest point, Will's Neck. It descends through the village of

Bicknoller Bicknoller is a village and civil parish on the western slopes of the Quantock Hills in the English county of Somerset. The parish includes the hamlets of Culverhays, Halsway, Newton and Woolston. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population ...

, and then crosses low-level country to

Williton Williton is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, at the junction of the A39 road, A39, A358 and B3191 roads, on the coast south of Watchet between Minehead, Bridgwater and Taunton. Williton station i ...

and

Dunster Dunster is a village that is home to Celtu and civil parish in Somerset, England, within the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park. It lies on the Bristol Channel southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. At the 2011 Census, ...

. After passing the village of

Wootton Courtenay Wootton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on Exmoor in Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Brockwell and Huntscott. The village lies on the route of the Macmillan Way West and the Celtic Way Exmoor Option. History Woot ...

it then climbs to

Exmoor Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...

at its highest point,

Dunkery Beacon Dunkery Beacon at the summit of Dunkery Hill is the highest point on Exmoor and in Somerset, England. It is also the highest point in southern England outside of Dartmoor. The sandstone hill rises to and provides views over the surrounding mo ...

. For the last to Barnstaple, the path follows the route of the

Tarka Trail The Tarka Trail is a series of footpaths and cyclepaths (rail trails) around north Devon, England, that follow the route taken by the fictional Tarka the Otter in the book of that name. It covers a total of in a figure-of-eight route, centred ...

. The path is waymarked from east to west, but not from west to east.

Route and points of interest

References

*''Macmillan Way West'' The Macmillan Way Association

External links

Macmillan Ways website
Exmoor Long-distance footpaths in England Footpaths in Somerset Footpaths in Devon {{Somerset-geo-stub