The area around Exmoor House - things to see & do during your stay

Exmoor is a great place for walking, cycling and exploring. During your short break at Exmoor House there are plenty of opportunities to get out and about... and to work up an appetite for our excellent food. Of course, if you don't want to walk or cycle, Exmoor offers plenty of other activities. Or you could just relax and take it easy.

To check availability or make a booking, just call Rosi & Frank on
01643 841432, or email us: info@exmoorhouse.com

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 and has an amazing variety of scenery. Beautifully bleak moorland combines with intimate wooded valleys or ‘combes’ to offer fantastic walking country. A unique feature of Exmoor is that the moors meet the sea in several places, most famously at Lynmouth. From Exmoor's highest point, Dunkery Beacon (near Wheddon Cross, the home of Exmoor House), there are superb views of the Avill Valley running down to Dunster and the Bristol Channel on one side and wild moorland on the other.

Exmoor's dark skies make it a great place for astronomers, and for people who simply enjoy stargazing. There's very little light pollution here, so it's much easier to see the Milky Way and to view events like meteor showers and eclipses. There is currently a bid for Exmoor to be England's first international Dark Sky Reserve.

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

You might also be lucky enough to see some of the area's great range of wildlife. For example the Exmoor pony, the nearest breed we have to the original wild horses of Europe, or red deer, England's largest wild animals, which 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.

Whichever way you go, whether on foot, by bike, public transport or driving, there is wonderful scenery. Interesting places to visit on Exmoor (all of which you can get to very easily from Exmoor House) include Exford, Simonsbath, Tarr Steps, Withypool, Winsford, Dulverton, Porlock, Dunster... the list goes on.

But Exmoor House at Wheddon Cross is also ideally situated for exploring The Brendon Hills, which connect Exmoor proper and the Quantocks - well worth a visit.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 Brendons are a haven of peace and quiet, but it wasn't always so. From the mid to late nineteenth century the hills were home to numerous iron ore mines. A special railway - the old Mineral Line - transported the ore down to Watchet, from where it was shipped across the Bristol Channel to be smelted in Wales. The photo on the right shows The Incline, which in its day was a remarkable feat of railway engineering. Today it's a scheduled ancient monument, with ongoing preservation work. You can find more details at www.westsomersetmineralrailway.org.uk/

From a network of waymarked footpaths, you'll find 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) to discover narrow country lanes that are largely traffic-free (though you might well encounter, as we have, a few pheasants or partridges).

Other things to do
As well as walking, cycling, seeing the sights and generally exploring Exmoor and the surrounding areas, you could go fishing or horse riding. If you feel like a spot of golf, there's a links course at Minehead. Prefer tennis? Wheddon Cross has its very own all-weather court. Exmoor is also a focus for sporting events including point-to-point races and shooting parties (pheasant and partridge). Several arts festivals - and food & drink festivals - take place during the year too: for example the Exmoor Food Festival and the Two Moors Festival.

For more ideas, visit our links page

To check availability or make a booking to stay at Exmoor House, contact Rosi & Frank: