Fun and games at an Exmoor village fête

Scarecrows guarding the signpost (photo by Debi Jones)

Every village on Exmoor does something to celebrate summer, the season of fairs and festivals. On the first Saturday in August – this weekend, in fact - is the Wheddon Cross and Cutcombe fête and dog show, which takes place on the village playing fields just a short walk from Exmoor House.

A 'Mrs Mopp' scarecrow takes a break (photo by Debi Jones)

In the good old English tradition, a fête wouldn't be a fête without at least some of the following: china smashing, splat the rat, barbeque, tombola, Pimm's tent, fortune-telling and stalls selling books, plants and bric à brac. Most, if not all, of these are generally here, often with a few extra surprises too. Buy a ticket for the grand draw and you could win any of a wonderful array of prizes – one of which is dinner for two at Exmoor House.

We really enjoy looking at all the competition entries: there is always some fab baking (Frank won the best-in-show cup one year; the judges loved his goat's cheese flan), as well as great photos, very inventive crafts and of course luscious home-grown produce. Sometimes the competitions include a prize for the best scarecrow. No scarecrows this year, but I couldn't resist including a couple of pictures of some from a year or so ago.


Afternoon teas (not to be missed) are served at the village hall. After prizes have been presented, the fruit, vegetables, cakes – and so on – from the competitions are auctioned to raise money for village good causes. The auctioneer from the sheep and cattle market down the road does the honours and the pace is fast and furious. Snooze and you lose, as they say. Bidding is often fiercest, and prices highest, when it's time for the whortleberries to be sold (you may know these by one of their other names: bilberries, whinberries, blaeberries...).

If you're in the area, do come along and join in. You'll be made very welcome.

Exmoor's variety, part 2: Plantlife

Because Exmoor has such a range of terrains (more in a later blog!) it has a big range of plantlife too. I'm going to concentrate here on some of my favourites, and haven't included trees because I'm also going to focus on them another time.

Daffodils in Stowey Wood near Wheddon Cross

Early in the year the snowdrops in Snowdrop Valley - where else? - show that the land is starting to wake up after winter. Slightly later signs of spring are daffodils, primroses, alexanders, wild garlic, bluebells. 

Gorse, with its sunny flowers and coconutty scent, can be in bloom at any time of year ('whenever kissing's in season' as the old saying goes) but is often at its best in late spring. Exmoor ponies love to nibble the flowers and stems.

Heather on Dunkery Hill

Summer brings out the bell heather and ling on the high moors, which are home to luscious whortleberries as well; also known as bilberries, if you're a northerner like me. And, following on from the foxgloves, rosebay willowherb is everywhere. On riverbanks I love to see meadowsweet, also – an invasive import, but so pretty – monbretia.

Gorse in bloom by the Porlock toll road

By the coast you'll see, at various times of the year, sea purslane, wild fennel, teasels, evening primroses, mallows...

And I'll just briefly mention marsh plants, grasses and sedges, ferns, lichens – the latter a telltale sign of Exmoor's unpolluted air – and fungi including brightly coloured waxcaps.

All in all, Exmoor is a botanist's paradise!

Beech leaf gin

Talking to some twitter friends a couple of months ago reminded me that for the last several years I’d intended to make beech leaf gin – also called noyau – but had never got round to it. Our exchange of tweets was the nudge I needed to get going. Late spring or early summer is the time to make this drink, and on Exmoor we have a plethora of beech trees... tall beech hedges are a distinctive feature of this lovely area.


There are several recipes around; I used the one in Richard Mabey’s book Food for Free (an excellent read, by the way, as is his Flora Britannica).

You’ll need a large jar, which you pack about nine-tenths full of beech leaves. Pick the leaves when they’re young, soft and that delicious lime green colour. This year the leaves on the beech tree in our garden were at that stage in mid May (but everything’s been a little later than usual). I think some arriving guests were slightly bemused to discover me peering into the tree and snipping off small twigs into a colander. Make sure the leaves are clean, dry and free of bits and insects.

When you’ve packed the leaves into the jar, pour in enough gin to cover them completely. You need to keep pressing the leaves down while you’re doing this, so that there are no air bubbles. We didn’t have quite enough gin to cover the leaves, so I also used the remains of a bottle of Dutch genever (similar, but this was vintage stuff so our friends in Holland may not have approved) and a bit of vodka.

Leave the mixture to steep for about two weeks. Then strain off the gin, which will have taken some colour from the leaves. Add about 350g (three quarters of a pound) of sugar, dissolved in 284ml (half a pint) of boiling water, to every 568ml (1 pint) of gin. Add a dash of brandy, mix it all up well and bottle when it is cold.

I left the resulting concoction to mature for a couple of weeks before trying it, and can report that it’s rather good - makes a great after dinner drink. It has a unique flavour, which I found slightly nutty (Mabey describes it as ‘a thickish, sweet spirit, mild and slightly oily to taste, like sake, but devastating in its effects!’). Definitely worth having a go.

Summer on Exmoor and why we would take a holiday here

Here in the heart of Exmoor National Park we don’t really have what you might think of the as the normal ‘tourist season’. So there are no traffic jams on the roads and it’s unusual to see crowds of people. Exmoor is a lovely, relaxing destination for all seasons and could absorb many more visitors without seeming crowded at all. I keep banging the drum about this, and for good reason: quite a few people have told us that they’ve avoided visiting in July and August because they thought that everywhere would be too busy and all the Exmoor accommodation would be fully booked. It ain’t necessarily so, folks!


Would we holiday here, if we weren’t already lucky enough to live in this beautiful area? Well yes, we would. Here are just a few reasons why:

The pace of life is relaxed – Exmoor is a real escape from everyday stress.

There is a remarkable range of excellent accommodation (including Exmoor House Wheddon Cross) and great places to eat (including, again, Exmoor House Wheddon Cross!).

Exmoor is astoundingly lovely, with an incredible variety of scenery: from wild coastline, to rolling farmland, to pretty villages, to pleasingly bleak moorland.

There is plenty to do: visit National Trust and English Heritage properties, enjoy some fantastic walking, cycling and mountain biking (you can hire an electric bike from http://www.exmoorunplugged.co.uk/ if you want to make the ride a bit easier), fishing, golf, horse riding, some great attractions (although, hooray, no theme parks – who needs them when we’re surrounded by such real-life beauty?)… and a range of festivals and other events take place during the year. For more ideas, visit http://www.visit-exmoor.co.uk/must-see-and-do 

OK, so we know the English weather is never entirely predictable – but that’s just part of the fun. You can see some of my suggestions for things to do on a rainy day at http://exmoorhousewx.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/things-to-do-on-around-exmoor-when-its.html

If you need another reason to visit Exmoor, here’s a great incentive: the Exmoor Guineas promotion. Find some excellent special offers at http://www.visit-exmoor.co.uk/guinea - including some from - er – Exmoor House Wheddon Cross.

If you’ve never been to Exmoor, now is an excellent time to visit. If you have, then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Take a look at our facebook page for photos of things to see and do on Exmoor, some of our favourite walks, and more: http://www.facebook.com/ExmoorHouse/photos

Walking on Exmoor: some walks we've done in summer and autumn 2011

 Recently we’ve discovered more new (to us) Exmoor walks which I’d like to share with you.


Withypool to Landacre Bridge: about 4.5 miles. Along the River Barle to the bridge, then back to Withypool via lanes and fields. It was a sunny late-summer day when we went, and the riverbanks were full of meadowsweet and montbretia, which made a stunning contrast with the bright blue sky. A small herd of Exmoor Horn sheep were totally unfazed, idly watching us as we walked through their field; the Exmoor ponies grazing near Landacre Bridge were similarly unbothered. Withypool’s pub, the Royal Oak, is cosy and homely, with local beers and great food.

Dulverton and Court Down: about 4 miles. Another walk that starts off by following the river. Be warned: the riverside path is closed at one point, after a landslide a couple of years ago. Follow the diversion signs and you’ll stay on the right track, emerging near Kennel Farm. There’s a leg-stretching climb up to the trig point on Court Down and a different perspective on Dulverton as you go back down into the village.

Dunster and Grabbist Hill: about 4.5 miles. Starts near Frackford Bridge, just outside Dunster on the road going up towards Wheddon Cross. There’s a longish climb up Grabbist Hill, fabulous views from the top and from Knowle Hill, a meander through plantations and finally a choice between a very (and I mean very) steep descent down towards Dunster and a less steep one (which, personally, I would choose next time!).

Hawkridge: about 3.5 miles. This one passes Tom Lock’s workshop (he’s known as the Antler Man; you’ll see why) and the church (worth a look: one of those charming, simple moorland churches with a lovely peaceful atmosphere). Then it follows an ancient trackway through fields and woods, emerging by Castle Bridge. You can also take a diversion to visit the remains of Brewer’s Castle, an Iron Age fort. A bridleway takes you along part of Dane’s Brook before meeting up with the original track to return to Hawkridge.



All these walks except the Dunster one are in ‘Shortish Walks on Exmoor’ (Robert Hesketh) published by Bossiney Books http://www.bossineybooks.com/

Give the car a holiday too!

As part of our efforts to be more green, we've been looking into how people can give the car a rest for a few days while they're on Exmoor. Of course, there are lots of good walks you can do direct from Exmoor House, but if you use public transport you can go a bit further afield. Wheddon Cross has buses calling about six times most days (except Sundays).

Here are some suggestions for car-free itineraries:

Dunster
Bus no 399. There’s plenty to see in Dunster, also several good circular walks from the village. If you're feeling energetic, you could walk all the way back to Wheddon Cross (some of our guests did this a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it)


Dulverton
Bus no 399. There's a choice of circular walks in the Barle Valley and the village itself is worth exploring (interesting Heritage Centre and church, some nice shops, several good pubs and tearooms).

Porlock
Bus no 399 to Minehead then no 39 (or in summer, 300) Porlock and walk back to Wheddon Cross along the Coleridge Way; or walk to Porlock and get the bus back to Wheddon Cross.

West Somerset Railway
Bus no 399 to Minehead, West Somerset Railway to Bishops Lydeard and back (or to any of the other stops en route); bus back to Wheddon Cross from Minehead. There are walks from all the stations along the railway; some circular, some from one station to another.

Lynmouth (April - October)
Bus 399 to Minehead, then the 300 open-top bus to Lynmouth and back to Minehead; bus to Wheddon Cross.

In summer, there is also the Moor Rover bus - especially useful for walkers and cyclists. More about this another time...

August special offer

In need of a break? Come and visit beautiful Exmoor National Park, staying in a characterful, award-winning village guesthouse, where everything's designed for maximum comfort, minimum fussiness. Spend a few days walking, exploring, cycling... or just relaxing... and enjoy some fabulous food that combines lovely local ingredients with expert cooking.

Sounds good? It gets better:
We've extended our summer special offer. Book 3 or more nights dinner, bed & breakfast, any weekend in July or August (except for the bank holiday weekend starting Friday 27th August) and pay the same price as the equivalent midweek break. So, for example, a three night stay starts from just £174 per person. This offer is only available for telephone bookings directly with us (see our website for contact details).

See you soon?

Happening soon on Exmoor

One of the lovely things about Exmoor is that it never gets crowded (comes of being the 'least visited National Park', I suppose!). It's always very easy to escape, and a haven for walkers and cyclists. Of course, you might not wish to be that active. The whole point of your visit  may simply be to relax, potter around and enjoy some wonderful scenery - for which Exmoor is the perfect place.


However, there's always plenty going on, too. For example, here are just a few events coming up later this month:

Our village hall at Wheddon Cross - just a short walk from Exmoor House - plays host to the National Park's Exmoor Archaeology Forum on July 17th. Pre-booking is essential.


The Tornado, a modern steam locomotive, returns to the West Somerset Railway on July 12th to 16th (and September 13th to 17th).

At Wimbleball Lake, Lakefest 2010 (July 14th - 18th) features a great range of watersports and more.

Dunster Country Fair, at Dunster Castle, includes pony and dog shows, falconry displays and craft stalls. It's on July 28th.

There'll be orchestral and chamber music at a variety of venues during the Minehead and Exmoor Festival (July 25th - 31st).

Don't forget, at Exmoor House we've a July special break offer: more info on our website.

Exmoor looks fab after all the rain!

Yes, we have had a bit of rain recently. Today it's sunny and much warmer, though. Does that mean the Met Office's 'barbeque summer' is here? It feels more like holiday time should, anyway.
We drove over to Taunton yesterday and going over the Brendon Hills everything was wonderfully green and lush, with that washed-clean kind of look. This spring was especially flower-full, and it looks like this is going to continue, with the rosebay willowherb looking gorgeous just now and the heather getting more purple by the day.
Another benefit from the rain is that the whortleberries are large & juicy - we made whortleberry pie last week (delicious with clotted cream). We look forward to blackberry-picking season!