Another day out on Exmoor: Allerford, Bossington, Selworthy

Following on from my last post, here’s another idea for exploring Exmoor: a day out in Allerford, Bossington and Selworthy, on foot, by bicycle, using public transport and/or by car…

This trio of villages on the National Trust-owned Holnicote Estate are (as you would expect) lovingly preserved and maintained. They’re also chocolate-box pretty and each has interesting corners to explore. Start at any of the villages and you can walk or cycle to any of the others via various routes (some quite challenging) or drive via typically winding Somerset lanes.

At Allerford, the famous packhorse bridge (one of Exmoor’s iconic images) dates from the 15th century. Some of the cottages have round chimneys, very characteristic of this area. In the old school building you’ll find the West Somerset Rural Life Museum, which includes the Victorian Schoolroom and the West Somerset Photographic Archive. There’s an impressive collection of artefacts, mostly dating from the 1800s to the 1950s. Also at Allerford is a forge where Kyle Roberts and his team produce an amazing variety of ironwork. At Lynch, just a short walk (or drive) from Allerford, the Exmoor Owl & Hawk Centre offers flying displays and many other activities.

Many of the houses and cottages in Bossington have tall round chimneys, and bread ovens that bulge from the walls. Kitnors Tea Room and Garden (near the village car park) is a lovely place to stop for lunch or a snack. Take a wander round the village and if you can, walk down to the sea shore: you’ll see some spectacular hilly views and the famous pebble ridge, which sometimes gets breached if Horner Water is in spate (it’s happened twice so far this year!). The ridge mends soon mends itself though.

Selworthy’s attractive limewashed church has an almost Mediterranean look about it. Set above the rest of the village, it’s visible for miles. The view from the church is beautiful and the inside of the building is very interesting, with some spectacular ceiling bosses among much else to see. The village itself, clustered around the green, is full of almost impossibly picturesque thatched cottages. Whatever you do, don’t forget to bring your camera. There’s a National Trust shop here, also the charmingly traditional Periwinkle Tea Room (which usually has a fabulous range of cakes, as well as other delicious things).

Public transport
Bus 39 runs between Minehead and Porlock (all year round)
Bus 300 runs between Minehead and Lynmouth (April – October only)
They both stop at Allerford Turn and Selworthy Turn. Bus 39 makes very occasional stops at Bossington Green (check timetables for latest information).

Useful links
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/things-to-see-and-do/page-1/item254184/
http://www.allerfordmuseum.org.uk/
http://www.allerfordforge.co.uk/
http://www.exmoorfalconry.co.uk/

Book
Shortish Walks on Exmoor by Robert Hesketh (Bossiney Books) has two walks that can be done separately or joined together: Allerford, Bossington and Hurlstone Combe plus Allerford and Selworthy Beacon. Each walk is about 4½ miles.

Maps
Explorer OL9 (Ordnance Survey) 
Exmoor for Off-Road Cyclists (Exmoor National Park Authority)

Seeing stars, follies in the woods - just two things that make Exmoor unique

‘Living here, I bet you take all this for granted’, is a frequent comment from guests, while gesturing towards the view of the moorland and Dunkery Beacon from our dining room.


Well, actually, we don’t – we feel incredibly privileged to be living here and I never get tired of that view. It changes many times in the course of each day because of the light and the clouds; it changes throughout the seasons because of the colours of the grass, gorse and heather.

Running a guest house is a pretty full-on job (not complaining – I love it), so we have to take the chance to get out and about when we can. There’s always something to learn about the area you live in; and as we’re not native to this area, there’s even more for us to learn.

Each year Exmoor National Park organises a series of Exmoor Awareness seminars for tourism businesses. This year I managed to attend two out of the three sessions, and am really glad I made the time to do so.

On 14th March there was an evening seminar – The Star Attraction – about, you guessed it, stargazing. Very conveniently for me, it was at our Wheddon Cross village hall, about two minutes’ walk away from us at Exmoor House. Exmoor is Europe’s first International Dark Sky Reserve, which is really something to celebrate (more info at http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/about-us/news/news-2011/international-dark-sky-reserve )

We learnt about just how special this accolade is, and how we can help visitors (and ourselves) get the best out of their night sky watching.

Unfortunately, after a wonderfully clear afternoon, a dense cloud cover had emerged – so there was no real-life stargazing for our group. But presentations from ‘Dark Sky Man’ Steve Owens (you’ll find his blog at http://darkskydiary.wordpress.com/ ) and the Exmoor Stargazers ( http://www.exmoorstargazers.co.uk/ ) made up for it.

Town and Country Through the Ages was the name of the 28th March session, held in Dunster Tithe Barn with a walk around Dunster afterwards. Rob Wilson North and Jessica Turner (respectively Historic Environment Manager and Archaeologist for the National Park) gave us a fascinating and lively introduction to the way an archaeologist reads the landscape and the layout of towns and villages.

In the afternoon, Andy Player from the Crown Estate told us about all the work they do in the area, and some exciting future plans they have. He took us on a guided walk around the village (reminding us how it pays to go just a little off the beaten track; there’s much more to see). We also walked up through the woods to the Conygar Tower, the most prominent of the Dunster Castle follies; some wonderful views en route. Frank and I have done several walks from Dunster, but hadn’t got round to this one yet.

Of course, events like this are also a great opportunity for networking, which everybody took full advantage of. If you are a tourism provider on Exmoor and you haven’t yet been able to get to one of these seminars, I urge you to do so when the opportunity comes round again. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

More detail about Exmoor Awareness: http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/about-us/news/news-2012/exmoor-awareness
More than tea and fudge - my previous blog post about things to see in Dunster: http://exmoorhousewx.blogspot.co.uk/2011_07_01_archive.html

We love Taunton, Somerset’s county town: things to see, shopping, places to eat

Since we moved to the country, the Big Metropolis for us is Taunton, the capital of Somerset. It’s our favourite place round here when we need to do a large shop or a large variety of shopping; more of shopping later, though, because there’s plenty else to tell. I temped in Taunton for a while when we first moved to Somerset, and during my lunch breaks I discovered some of its secret (and not so secret) places and things to see. Here’s a taster.


Vivary Park is great for a wander, well used but still peaceful, with lots of interesting corners. There are some gorgeous houses backing on to the park, at which I’ve cast many an envious look.

If you only have time to look at one of the churches in Taunton, make it St Mary Magdalene. The churchyard and surrounding streets are also very atmospheric, giving a feeling of what the town must have been like in the days before the car parks were needed.

The River Tone flows though the town (Tone-town, it must’ve been!) and it’s a nice stroll along the pathways at Goodland Gardens and French Weir. As I write this, there’s some renovation work going on by the riverside so not all the paths are accessible.

Through the archway at Castle Bow you’ll find a collection of historic and picturesque buildings. The castle itself contains the beautifully laid out Museum of Somerset, recently opened again after a massive redevelopment.

Shopping! The main retail areas in the town centre are the High Street, East Street, North Street and the adjoining arcades, where there are all the usual chain stores and independent shops too. There’s a good farmers market on the High Street every Thursday. For plenty of interesting individual shops, try the area around Middle Street and the back streets near the bridge, also Bath Place off the High Street.

Food is dear to our hearts, and we generally combine a visit to Taunton with a good lunch. Some of our favourite places to eat include The Sanctuary on Middle Street (their light lunch menu is very good value); Brazz on Castle Bow (part of The Castle Hotel); the Castle Green Inn (on Castle Green, would you believe?); the Flying Aubergine (great name!) by the river; there are many more too.


Find more information about Taunton, and a link to a heritage trail, at http://www.visitsomerset.co.uk/explore-somerset-towns-and-villages/taunton-p500243