The Lamb of God and the High Places: 10 West Country Hills to Climb this Easter

There's an Exmoor Easter walks tradition which, in days of yore, would see the people of the villages climbing Dunkery at this time of the year in the hopes of seeing the Lamb Of God.

Now, I'm not exactly sure what the Lamb Of God is, but I do know that Exmoor's highest hill was venue for this phenomenon and that there is a place called Easter Hill on the flanks of the great furzy down. In fact, the climbing of hills used to be quite the done thing at Easter—for obvious reasons.

The Symbolic Journey: Why We Take Easter Walks to the Summit

There might be some strange notions about de-Christianising the Easter festival around today, but for many centuries ours was a land in which people firmly believed in the story of The Crucifixion. Most readers will have grown up with the stark biblical imagery of a bare hill crowned by three crosses in their minds.

Calvary is an anglicised version of the hill’s old Hebrew name, Golgotha—which is an altogether more sinister sounding place—and one that referred to the fact the hill, near one of Jerusalem’s gates, resembled a skullcap. Anyway, the god-fearing folk of the Westcountry would climb hills around Easter and either put up symbolic crosses or cast their believing eyes skywards for some kind of religious sign.

In more modern times, people began to climb hills in order to roll eggs down them—which is great fun, even if the ancient origins of the tradition are somewhat obscure. Across Europe, it is said children rolled eggs down hillsides at Easter because it was symbolic of the rolling away of the rock from Jesus’s tomb before his resurrection.

Climbing hills is, of course, a healthy thing to do, no matter what religion you believe in. Which is why we’ve drawn up a list of the Top 10 Hills to climb this Easter.

1. Dunkery Beacon, Exmoor

Exmoor’s highest hill and apparently THE place from which to see the Lamb of God at Easter time. The beacon offers tremendous views—which is an obvious thing to say about any big eminence—but Dunkery really does boast panoramas others fail to reach.

2. Tregonning Hill, Cornwall

For years Cornish folk gave praise to this hill as it led directly to the employment of hundreds of thousands of men. For Tregonning is the place where William Cookworthy discovered china clay nearly 270 years ago. A basic circumnavigation offers fine views of Western Cornwall.

3. Culmstock Beacon, Devon

Anyone who has travelled on the M5 will have seen it—the great, flat-topped, steep-sided escarpment that reaches out like a giant diving board into the patchwork green of mid-Devon, south of the motorway.

4. Steeperton Tor, Dartmoor

If you want to go to a hill that is lonely and remote, try Steeperton Tor. The walk begins at Belstone and heads south into the moors following the Taw. But be warned, this whole area is subject to closure if there’s a military training exercise.

5. Golden Cap, Dorset

The highest point along the entire English south coast. Climbing its 191-metre summit from sea-level is a pure joy for lovers of maritime views. The additional climb to the summit is a must for the hale and hearty.

6. Burrowbridge Mump, Somerset

The Somerset Levels are strikingly beautiful. Go to Burrowbridge Mump for a stunning bird’s eye view—and there’s even a ruined church at the top to add to the Easter atmosphere.

7. Glastonbury Tor, Somerset

Yes, more views of the Levels—but the famous Tor is much higher than the Mump and there’s yet another ruined church at the top if you are feeling spiritual. And who doesn’t when they go to Glastonbury?

8. Carn Brea, Cornwall

This craggy eminence looms 750 feet above Camborne and Redruth. The hill is a warren of history, the summit covered in the remains of hut circles and ramparts dating back to the Iron Age and even Neolithic times.

9. High Willhayes, Dartmoor

At 2039 feet (621 metres), Dartmoor’s highest hill is the closest the West Country gets to heaven. By climbing High Willhayes, you will know you are the highest person in the southern UK.

10. Brent Tor, Devon

The little church of St Michael de Rupe perched on the top of the crags is my favourite temple in the West Country. It is closer to heaven than almost any other church in the south of England and offers a peerless view of the landscape.