WORK is underway to extend the Coleridge Way.

Currently 36 miles long, an extra 14 miles is being added from Porlock to Lynmouth.

Way marked with distinctive quill signage produced by Exmoor National Park's field services team, the extension will head through Worthy Woods and pass Ash Farm, where Coleridge once stayed, before dropping down into the Doone Valley and on to Watersmeet and Lynmouth.

It will be ready to use this summer.

Originally opened in 2005, the Coleridge Way walking route links sites and locations associated with the romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge during his time in Somerset.

The route begins at Coleridge Cottage in Nether Stowey, where he lived, and wends its way through the Quantocks to the coast, finishing in Porlock.

The extension is being funded primarily by the Exmoor National Park Partnership Fund with additional support from Lyn Community Development Trust, Lyn Valley Society, Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council and Lynmouth Flood Memorial Hall Fund.

Phil Taylor, director of the Lyn Community Development Trust, sais: "Coleridge's favourite walk was from Nether Stowey to Lynmouth and the Valley of Rocks, and we are delighted that the Coleridge Way is being extended to incorporate more of Exmoor's spectacular scenery.

"This will make a wonderful walk even more enjoyable and will be ideal for those wanting to try hiking for the first time as well as rewarding for experienced walkers.

"There are many places to stay along the way for anyone who wishes to extend their stay in the area."

From Lynmouth, an additional spur follows the South West Coast Path into the Valley of Rocks and Poets Corner.

The total route will be 50 miles long, and more information will be available at http://www.coleridgeway.co">www.coleridgeway.co.

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