WALKERS are enjoying a new walk around Porlock Bay, which has been launched this week.

The self-guided walk has been inaugurated by the National Trust, which has produced a leaflet to help visitors make the most of their two-mile amble through part of the Trust's Holnicote Estate.

The walk, entitled Working with Nature at Porlock Bay' leads ramblers through an area of coastline which has been transformed by rises in sea level.

Nigel Hester, National Trust countryside manager, said: "Walkers on the route today will not be walking through coastal grassland as it was before storms in 1996 but enjoy the diverse wildlife that now inhabits the new salt marsh."

He said the new environment provided a home and feeding ground for a wide range of waders and ducks that were once rare visitors and for plants that have not grown there before.

He said: "Rare plants on the route include Babbington's leek and the yellow horned poppy.

"Visitors can also look out for curlew, redshank, oystercatcher, little egret and heron on the salt marsh, and otters feeding on the fish in the water channels running through the marsh."

The walk begins in the car park in Bossington and follows Horner Water to the Shingle beach, returning to the car park through the marsh from the far end of the beach.

The free leaflet is available from Porlock Visitor Centre. Ring 01643 863150.