Walking from Exmoor House: some of our favourite walks

We've discovered some great walks from our door over the last year or so. The most well-known is up to Dunkery Beacon and back, which you can do several different ways (e.g. via Luckwell Bridge or Snowdrop Valley) and make into a very long walk if you want to. On a clear day, the views from Dunkery Hill are absolutely stunning.
Some of our other favourites are to follow part of the Coleridge Way towards Luxborough, then turn off for a different route back to Wheddon Cross. Or you can walk through Cutcombe, then cut across the fields to East Wood, go down to Sully's Corner and back via Putham Lane.
The autumn colours are coming along nicely now so the woods are looking wonderful.
Many of the footpaths and bridleways follow old sunken lanes and former drover's roads - amazing to think that centuries ago these would have been the equivalent of motorways.

Food Fest a great success

The Exmoor Food Festival went really well this year, by all accounts. We certainly had a good number of people in to try our lunchtime tasting platters. Definitely worth doing again in 2010. We might do something similar to the tasting platters - somebody suggested we have tasters of puddings too - or maybe we'll have something different. We'll be promoting it here and on our website, as well as in our newsletter and via the Festival publications, of course.
If you thought about coming over for lunch but didn't make it, do remember that we can usually provide lunches for groups of 4 or more people, when booked at least 48 hours in advance (menu to suit - we'll discuss your requirements with you). And we're open most evenings for dinner - again, booking is essential.

Exmoor Tasting Platters - menu for Exmoor Food Festival

Book your table now for our 'lunch with a difference' - Exmoor Tasting Platters - served as part of the Exmoor Food Festival, 2nd - 11th October (12-2pm each day). For £8.50 a head you can choose 3 different tapas-style servings of things like our potted beef, spinach & garlic terrine, home-cured meats (e.g. smoked pork tenderloin), Somerset cheeses (including Exmoor Jersey Blue)... all served with salad, home-made breads and a choice of home-made pickles. You can add extra tasting portions too.
For pudding, why not try some of our wonderful home-made ice cream (which we make in some slightly unusual flavours like blackberry & elderberry) or a delicious, light and very chocolatey sponge...
To go with your meal we've some good local beers and Somerset ciders, a nice range of wines, organic soft drinks from Devon and tea and coffee from our local supplier.
Look forward to seeing you!

Red deer rutting on Exmoor

October's the red deer rutting season, and Exmoor is a great place to see (and hear) the stags in all their splendour. Here on Exmoor we have the largest concentration of wild red deer in Europe, as well as fallow deer and roe deer.
The Porlock Visitor Centre organises 'rutting weekends' each year, and there are a number of companies offering 4 x 4 safaris on the moor. The Exmoor National Park rangers also organise escorted walks.
Come and stay at Exmoor House for a few nights (being in Wheddon Cross, we're more or less right in the middle of the national park) and you can go in search of the deer herds...

Walking from Tarr Steps

Frank & I don't get out much when things are busy here at Exmoor House; but we had a free afternoon last week and went over to Tarr Steps - hadn't visited this part of Exmoor for a while. We did part of the Tarr Steps/Withypool circuit. Thought we could cross the river partway along, but in fact it's not possible so we returned the same way and came down the hill again! It was the most walking we'd done for a while... We saw deer (Bambi & his mum) and a rabbit too (must've been Thumper), as well as lots of birdlife - and sheep of course. There are the remains of some really old hedgebanks, which are very picturesque, all overgrown with moss. Some of the leaves are just starting to turn, but in general everything's still looking quite green. The heather continues to hold its own too - Dunkery Beacon, as seen from our dining room, is still very purple.

North Devon & Exmoor Autumn Walking Festival

For the first time this year there's an autumn walking festival for North Devon & Exmoor, as well as the one in May. The autumn festival is from 18th to 21st September. There are eight walks, for all abilities, to choose from each day. Some great stuff!
Why not book a few days at Exmoor House and take in some of the walks while you're here? (You need to book for the walks too - there's a link to the walking festival site from our website). September's a great time for walking on Exmoor, with - we hope, anyway - some mellow autumn weather on the way.
See you soon!

Exmoor Food Festival: try some prize-winning chutney

A reminder that the Exmoor Food Festival takes place from 2nd - 11th October. At Exmoor House we'll be doing tasting platters at lunchtime every day. We're calling it lunch with a difference - it's a chance to try a selection of our pates, pickles, home-made bread, local cheeses, salads... with some delicious puddings to follow if you still have room. And, yes, we do have prize-winning chutney: Frank's spicy tomato chutney won a first prize at the Cutcombe Fete in early August.
It's essential to book for the October lunches; please contact us (all contact info is on our website) if you'd like some more details.