Exmoor's variety, part 1: Water

Exmoor National Park is not only incredibly beautiful, but incredibly varied. Some people hear the word ‘moor’ and think ‘bleak’ – but I want to show you that on Exmoor this is very far from the full story.


I’d intended to make this post about scenery and landscape in general, but this is such a huge subject that it needs breaking down into several episodes. So this time I’m going to concentrate on one theme – water. Who doesn’t love picnicking by a river, or relaxing by the sea?
 

 The river Barle at Withypool

 The moorland is criss-crossed by many small rivers, e.g. the Barle...







...and there are areas of marshland, rich in wildlife.

Porlock Marsh

Wimbleball Lake at dusk

We’ve a lake (a man-made reservoir but none the less attractive for that) at Wimbleball.








And Exmoor National Park has an amazing coastline, from Minehead

View from the Valley of Rocks, Lynton

to Porlock, from Lynmouth to Heddon’s Mouth and many places in between. Beaches, high and rugged cliffs, dramatic ravines, charming harbour towns…
 

Walking to Heddon's Mouth

There are plenty of water-based activities to choose from on Exmoor, including coasteering, kayaking, fishing - and of course coastal walking or cycling.





Find some ideas at Visit Exmoor

Exmoor events: Snowdrop Valley, Golden Horseshoe, Walking Festival, Ironman

Exmoor National Park really is a place for all seasons and all reasons. Partly this is because the ever-changing scenery is beautiful all year round, and partly it is because there is a huge range of events, to suit everybody. For example:

Snowdrop Valley, Wheddon Cross (February and early March): hosts of snowdrops in a

Snowdrop Valley, near Exmoor House

wonderful woodland setting. It is a very special place to visit; many people come back year after year. Read more about it on our website and the Wheddon Cross website

The Golden Horseshoe Ride (May) is based at Exford, about 5 miles from Exmoor House, This famous endurance ride attracts competitors and spectators from far and wide. There is also a sponsored pleasure ride. Exmoor ponies and their riders compete in some of the classes.

Exmoor Walking Festival logo

Enjoy walking? Have a look at the North Devon and Exmoor Walking Festival (normally in late April and early May). It covers many areas of Exmoor, giving a good flavour of the amazing variety of landscapes here in Somerset and Devon. There are guided walks for all ages and abilities. At Exmoor House we are almost in the centre of the National Park, so you could take a break here and book several of the walks to do during your stay.



Ironman 70.3 UK takes place in and around Wimbleball Lake

Wimbleball Lake

(about 8 miles from Exmoor House) in mid June. Again, people come to Exmoor from all over the world to take part and to support the competitors. It is a ‘half Ironman’ because it involves running 13.1 miles (as well as jumping into the lake for a swim of 1.2 miles at a very early hour of the morning, also cycling 56 miles). In the full Ironman triathlon, the distances are twice the above. We take our hats off to all the Ironmen and Ironwomen for their focus and dedication, which we’ve observed first hand as quite a few of them have stayed with us over the years.

Shorter, flatter walks on Exmoor (part 1)

Exmoor is wonderful walking country. There are plenty of challenging walks, but this article is for those people who don’t want to walk too far or are not particularly mobile, but still want to get an idea of the fantastic variety of scenery within and around the National Park. 

Woodland near Nutcombe Bottom

The Tall Trees Trail, Crown Estate, Dunster
From Nutcombe Bottom, near Dunster village. Visit the tallest tree in England on this easily accessible woodland trail.

 

Wimbleball Lake

Wimbleball Lake

From the car park by the café it’s a shortish downhill walk to the lakeshore. Once by the lake, if you go right it takes you towards the dam; turn left to go towards a small nature reserve and Bessom Bridge. There are various tracks and trails (mainly flat), or you could just walk as far as you feel like along the main lakeside path, and back again. 

Clatworthy Reservoir

Again, there’s a downhill walk to the lake itself from the car park and the lakeside walk is pretty flat.

Near Heddon's Mouth

Heddon’s Mouth

The walk to Heddon’s Mouth and back, from Hunter’s Inn, has some spectacular scenery. There are some (gentleish) slopes and uneven, stony ground. 

Bossington

 

Bossington

This village, owned by the National Trust, is very interesting to wander round, and there’s also a flat walk to the coast at Bossington Beach, well worth a visit.

For more ideas (including information about hiring all-terrain mobility scooters) visit
http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/visiting/accessible-exmoor