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For the farmer, the Exmoor region offers
most in the way of dairying in the soft
green lowlands and running sheep on the rugged
uplands. When you find your car stuck behind a
slow-moving herd of cows, or have to slow down to
walking pace to avoid the sleepy sheep at the side
of the road – relax and take it easy. The locals do!
Pheasants, ducks and over-friendly farm dogs are
other ‘natural roadblocks’ along the country lanes
of Exmoor – not to mention the wild native
Exmoor ponies with their ragged manes and tails
that seem to catch the very spirit of the windswept
moors.
| The country lanes of Exmoor are twisting, narrow
and high-banked, cradling you under the trees in
some deep combe bottom, or climbing to an
enormous, stunning top-of-the-world view. Ferns
grow in the hedgebanks, along with primroses,
snowdrops and violets in spring, campion and cow
parsley in summer. You could easily spend your
whole holiday revelling in the peace and beauty
of these lanes that connect the towns and villages
lying on the moor itself and around its skirts on the
fringes of the National Park. |
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These settlements are as full of variety as they are
of charm. There are hamlets as small and perfect
as high-perched Stoke Pero with its ancient church, villages as endearing as Withypool in its cleft of the
River Barle, stone-built harbour towns such as
Watchet on the Bristol Channel with its new
marina, characterful rural centres like Dulverton
where local socialising and shopping goes on
regardless of whatever may be happening in the
outside world beyond the moor.
Not surprisingly, Exmoor supports a wonderfully
diverse wildlife. Bring your binoculars and look out
for red deer, bats and badgers in the gathering dusk.
The unique Exmoor pony has almost become a
symbol of the moors, inhabiting a landscape in
which no less than 1,000 different flowering plants
and grasses flourish. Birdwatchers are kept busy
spotting the 80 resident species, with many more
visiting birds and passing migrants. Many birds are
attracted by Exmoor’s lakes and rivers, which serve
as havens for rich aquatic, as well as aerial, wildlife.
If you really want to get away from everyone,
the area around Exmoor has plenty of wonderfully
lonely country. Walkers and riders who venture
to such wild spots as Brendon Common and
Larkbarrow on the edge of Doone Country, or
Pinkworthy Pond and The Chains in the west of
the moor, know the special delight of solitude in
beautiful surroundings.
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Living on the moor
- After four traumatic years at the front during the First
World War, Henry Williamson came to live on the fringes
of Exmoor in 1921 – an experience of the country life
and landscape of Exmoor that he immortalised in his
famous book Tarka the Otter. After decades of virtual
disappearance from the Exmoor scene, otters are back on
every major river. Henry Williamson would be pleased.
- Exmoor and the Quantocks are home to England's
largest number of red deer. Seek out these glorious
animals by yourself or on an organised wildlife safari.
The best time to see and hear a red stag in his full
rutting majesty is in October and November, the
months when he is most concerned with attracting
mates and intimidating love rivals.
- The rare Exmoor pony has been here since ancient times
and the moor shapes their size, their characteristic
hardiness, their independent spirit, and that native
intelligence which gets them out of trouble in difficult
conditions. Whether driving or walking, herds or groups
of ponies are frequently to be seen living ‘in the wild’ all
the year round. In the Autumn the mares and foals are‘gathered’ and driven down to the farms, then the purebred‘suckers’, as the foals are called, are checked to
maintain purity of breed.
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Steep-sided valleys, clothed in dense oakwood, unexpectedly crease the landscape. Scenic lakes and
clear-flowing rivers water the moors. Waterfalls tumble down dark, dramatic gorges to the sea.
Pretty villages and robust, stone-built towns maintain a traditional country atmosphere,
untouched by the rush and crush of the modern world. Over the centuries Exmoor has been shaped by its farming
communities – and continues to be so. It’s a breath of fresh air to escape to these rural heartlands.
