A Great Place To... Explore a National Park
National Park
E xmoor is a unique, unassuming corner of the UK that never fails to satisfy, excite or surprise those who decide to explore its luscious landscapes.
Straddling the counties of Somerset and Devon, it became a national park in 1954; it may be among the smallest, but what it lacks in size is made up for in beauty and contrast.
Measuring about 21 miles by 15, Exmoor has it all, and is so compact that it’s easy to explore. At its northern edge it ends abruptly with a series of precipitous sea cliffs – these rugged hog’s-backed monsters are the highest in England (parts of the A39 coast road between Lynmouth and Porlock are not for the faint-hearted!).
Like its fictional heroine Lorna Doone, Exmoor is both wild and gentle, and it’s easy to see why R D Blackmore chose this setting for his famous novel. The scenery certainly stirs the imagination, thanks partly to those stark cliffs lining the Bristol Channel, but also the wooded valleys, tumbling streams and wild, empty moors.
There are no large urban sites on Exmoor, so the lush landscape is punctuated by nothing more than quaint villages, small towns and farms.
Although the landscape isn’t totally devoid of bleakness, there is predominantly a cosiness and overriding softness in this part of the world, exemplified by the smooth, gentle curves of the hills.
Make sure you visit, among other attractions, Tarr Steps, a prehistoric clapper bridge that dates back to around 1000 BC; Dunkery Beacon – Exmoor’s highest point – and Horner Wood, one of Britain’s largest ancient oak woods.
Further info: Go to visit-exmoor.co.uk. For accommodation, try the 17th-century Crown Hotel (01643 831 554; crownhotelexmoor.co.uk), a former coaching inn situated in Exford.