The area around Exmoor House

Exmoor is one of Britain’s best-kept secrets. Two-thirds in Somerset and one third in Devon, it is one of the smallest of our National Parks, combining beautifully bleak moorland with intimate wooded valleys or ‘combes’ to offer walking country that, for sheer variety, is hard to beat. It is also unique in that the moors meet the sea in several places, most notably perhaps at Lynmouth. From its highest point, Dunkery Beacon (near Wheddon Cross), walkers are rewarded with a superb view of the Avill Valley running down to Dunster and the Bristol Channel on one side and wild moorland on the other.

One of the most beautiful parts of Exmoor is the Holnicote Estate, which is owned by the National Trust and encompasses fine heather moorland, five miles of wild and dramatic Atlanctic coastline, 170 farms and cottages and a glorious patch of ancient woodland around Horner.

You might, if you’re lucky, come across a few examples of the region’s wildlife on your wanderings. The Exmoor pony is the nearest breed we have to the original wild horses of Europe, while red deer, the largest wild animals in England, have lived on Exmoor since prehistoric times. Buzzards often soar overhead.

Unlike some National Parks, Exmoor never gets too crowded with walkers, and in the quieter areas you could well walk all day without seeing a soul.

For more information on Exmoor and West Somerset, including special events and travel facilities, try www.visitsomerset.co.uk

But Wheddon Cross is not only ideally situated for exploring Exmoor: The Brendon Hills, which have been described as the bridge between Exmoor proper and the Quantocks, deserve to be better known than they are. This area of gently rolling countryside, stretching from near Bishops Lydeard in the east to Wheddon Cross in the west, falls within the Exmoor National Park boundary and, like Exmoor itself, provides great walking and touring country.

These days the Brendon Hills are a haven of peace and quiet, but in former times it was a different story. From the mid-nineteenth century to about 1920 the hills were home to numerous iron ore mines, which provided the raw materials for the smelters in Wales. A special railway was constructed to transport the ore down the steep incline (shown right) from the top of the Brendons down to port of Watchet, from where it was taken across the Bristol Channel to be smelted in Wales. Today there is little evidence of this past activity, just the remains of a single mine near Raleghs Cross and the overgrown remants of The Incline railway, which reached its summit near the Brendon Hill Methodist Church. What you will find is a network of waymarked footpaths which allow you to explore this often overlooked area, with its terrific views across the Bristol Channel (the hills rise to over 1200 feet) and unspoilt, resolutely untouristy villages such as Luxborough and Monksilver. Take any of the side turnings off the main ridge road (the B3224) and you will soon find yourself in narrow country lanes that are largely traffic-free (though you might well encounter, as we have, the odd pheasant or six).