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

A grand day out

A favourite day out of ours is a trip on the West Somerset Railway. Riding the steam trains is like going back in time and gives a very different perspective on the countryside between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard. Watch out for Dunster Castle, nestled among the trees; further on the line hugs the coast for a while; there are also wonderful views of the Brendons and the Quantocks.




If you have the time, it’s definitely worth changing trains at least once to have a mooch around. All the stations are interesting in their own right; some have second hand bookstalls, gift shops, museums or cafés. However, there is a lot more to see beyond the stations themselves. For example, Watchet is a fascinating little town, there are beaches at Blue Anchor and Doniford (the latter with fossil formations), and medieval Cleeve Abbey is within walking distance of Washford station.



Last time we travelled on the railway we took with us the two little books of ‘Country Walks from West Somerset Railway Stations’ (by Audrey & Ron Short, updated by Malcolm & Natalie Short, published by WSRA – we bought our copies from the gift shop at Minehead station). We walked from Crowcombe Heathfield to Bishops Lydeard, stopping for a very good lunch at the Farmers Arms, Combe Florey. At Bishops Lydeard there was time for a circular walk around the village and tea at the station before getting our train back to Minehead.



You can now buy West Somerset Railway Day Rover tickets from us at a discounted rate when you stay at Exmoor House. There’ll be details on our website soon, or contact us for more information.

January special offer on Exmoor dinner, bed and breakfast breaks

Happy new year! We decided to take a break ourselves over the festive season, and went visiting family and friends. Now we're back, refreshed and ready to welcome our guests to Exmoor.

To start off 2011, we've a special offer on dinner, bed & breakfast packages. It runs for stays starting from now until 24th January, and you can save up to £50 on our normal prices.

For example:

The special offer price for a 3-night break, with 3-course dinner, bed & breakfast, is £169.50 per person (normally up to £193.50). For a 4-night break on the same basis, it's £208 per person (normally up to £258).

All prices are based on two people sharing a double or twin-bedded room.

To take advantage of this special deal, you need to book with us direct; the offer's not available to book via our website. Just give us a call...

Look forward to hearing from you!

Some things happening on Exmoor soon

Here on Exmoor there are lots of good things coming up in the next month or so. Here's some brief info:

Porlock Arts Festival (9th - 12th September)

Exmoor Bike Marathon (11th September)

The Tour of Britain stage 4 - Minehead to Teignmouth (14th September)
This passes through Wheddon Cross, home of Exmoor House

The West Somerset Railway Autumn Steam Gala (30th September - 3rd October)

The Two Moors Festival (30th September - 9th Octobet)
It's the Festival's tenth anniversary year

North Devon and Exmoor Walking Festival (1st - 4th October)
There's a Food Walk from Wheddon Cross, which includes lunch at Exmoor House, on 2nd October. Places are limited so do book as soon as you can.

Exmoor Food Festival (2nd - 10th October)
You can enjoy Tasting Platter lunches at Exmoor House, Wheddon Cross, each day of the Festival (advance booking is essential)

Thinking about an Autumn getaway? At Exmoor House in October and November, we're offering weekend breaks for the same price as midweek - for example, a 3-night dinner, bed & breakfast package starts from only £174 per person. Enjoy a fabulously relaxing stay and some excellent food at a bargain price.

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.

Our January newsletter is out now

If you'd like to receive a copy of our January newsletter, just let us know and we'll email one to you. It has details of a 'recommend a friend' discount for people who've stayed with us before. There's also information about our new 2-course dinner packages (we've added these because several people have commented that they'd rather not eat 3 courses every night). Plus we've restructured our house party prices, so that they're fairer for smaller groups.

The snow's melting fast here now - not much left!

Special offers at Exmoor House with FreeDiscountCard

Exmoor House has joined the FreeDiscountCard scheme, and we've special offers available for members. There are also discounts available on all sorts of other things nationwide.
Have a look at www.freediscountcard.co.uk for more information!