North Devon and Exmoor Walking Festival

The North Devon and Exmoor Walking Festival takes place from April 30th to May 8th with over 70 guided walks to enjoy in the company of friendly and knowledgeable guides. The Dunkery Beacon provides the perfect bed and breakfast accommodation from which to enjoy the festival.

Several introductory walks are free but most walks range from £5-£6 for adults, £4-5 for children. The walks are not repeated during the festival and 65% of the walks are new, to give the regulars something fresh. There are 73 walks to choose from, giving a good range of lengths and difficulty each day.

This year the festival includes half-day walks, some with special interest such as looking out for red deer and Exmoor ponies. Others will suit children such as the rock pool ramble on Croyde beach or the narrow-gauge train ride at Parracombe.

There are plenty of midrange walks and some longer walks are included providing a challenge for those who want to get their heart pumping. Please remember that a 9 or 10 mile walk with our hills is enough for the best of us, assuming you want to be fit enough to walk the next day!

There are several 'special' walks this year, including flying a Harris hawk, tracking with a local expert, 'gourmet' walks, photography walks, red deer and pony hunt walks, map-reading and the ever-popular Lundy Island. Some of the well-known landowners are guiding on their patch to give you that extra insight. This includes welcoming back the Hon. John Rous, owner of Clovelly Estates with a walk taking in the village, coast, woods and farmland.

Comfortable beds, log fire, hearty breakfasts and beautiful countryside to walk in - the perfect combination for a relaxing break.

Porlock Weir and Minehead

On Sunday, Alyson and Martyn came for lunch. I have known Ally since we were at school togther so we go back a very long way! They have 3 boys and the eldest has just announced his engagement so its great excitement all round.

We have had 3 archaeologists staying for bed and breakfast. They are invloved in an English Hertitage project which is concerned with the detailed recording of the archaeology, history and the natural enviroment of the Bristish coastline. It sounds fasinating and there is just so much information just about Porlock Weir and Minehead which is such a beautiful part of the coastline. Our other bed and breakfast guest have been enjoying the weather which has been beautiful and they have made the most with visits to Woolacombe, walking the moors and visiting the National Trust properties in the area. One of our bed and breakfast couples walked straight from our houseup to Dunkery Beacon, down to Cloutsham, around to Webbers Post and then home. 4 relaxing hours without taking the car out!

Last night we walked the dogs at Dunkery Hill Gate. It was a lovely evening and we saw a couple of pairs of curlews which are nesting in the rushy areas. As we strolled on, a herd of about 30 deer trotted on down the hill towardes Snowdrop Valley and then suddenly a lovely stag jumped the hedge in front of us and cantered down to join his herd. He was looking a little perculier as he had just cast an antler leaving him looking a little lop sided!

The swallows have certainly increased in number since last week and we have heard the cuckoo. The gorse is vibrant with the lovely smell of coconut and the blossom on the blackthorn is now out in full bloom contratsing with the yellow of the gorse. Each morning, we enjoy an early cup of tea with the bedroom windows wide open listening to the wonderful dawn chourus - a lovely way to start the day.

Spring Harvest celebrations in Minehead

We have had a very busy week with our bed and breakfast guests and also Derek's aunt and uncle came to stay for a couple of days so it was lovely to catch up on all their news. It has been the Spring Harvest celebrations in Minehead for the past 3 weeks and we have had some delightful people staying with us - Ted and Pat and also Rod and Una who have stayed before. We have also had guests with their children who tackled Dunkery Beacon and a 8 mile walk and the coastal footpath. Jean and Steven had 3 great days just relaxing and walking in the immediate area - Porlock being the furthest they went.

We have had some lovely sunny days and the young animals have certainly been enjoying having some warmth on their backs and many of the fields around us have flocks of ewes with their lambs. In the evenings especially, the lambs go around collecting one another up into gangs and then start having races against one another. They gallop over hedges and round trees and at the end they literally jump with all four hooves in the air. Sometimes if the ewes are lying down, lambs will clamber onto their mums back and fall asleep - talk about taking advantage of your mother!

We were walking in Snowdrop valley and a herd of single suckler cows with their calves had just been turned out into a field after spending the winter months housed indoors. Although Derek and I come from farming families, we have never seen calves run so fast or for so long - up and down the side of the bank with their tails in the air - they were so happy to be out in the sun and on the grass.

Yesterday we went over to Dulvertonto get a load of wood for the woodburner so we parked up on Winsford Hill for a walk beforehand. It was a gorgeous afternoon - the dogs were pottering about in the
gorse and having a soak in the stream. It was bliss just to sit with the sun on my face and hear nothing apart from the babbling stream and the occasional snort from Abby as she was digging. The air was so soft without any trace of a chill. Peace couldn't last for too long so it was back to work and loading up the trailer with wood which Derek has just spent a happy afternoon unloading and storing ready for the winter!

Happy Easter!

We hope that you have had a very Happy Easter. Our accommodation was fully booked and all
our bed and breakfast guests enjoyed the 3 wonderful days of sunshine. We had a group of 12
staying for the break and they really made the most of the Exmoor experience! Armed with
picnics each day, they went sailing on Wimbleball Reservoir, visited Lynton and Lynmouth,
went on a Barle Valley Safari, walked from Bossington up to Hurlesdown Point, up onto North
Hill and down to Selworthy, pony trekking from Burrowhayes campsite at Horner and relaxed
each night in a local pub or restaurant. Our other bed and breakfast guests walked from here
to Dunkery Beacon, over to Webbers Post and down to Horner for a cream tea - after an 8 mile
walk, they deserved it!

Derek and I did 3 shorter walks including Dunkery Hill Gate, Ley Hill (where we saw a fox
enjoying the sun) and also Snowdrop Valley. On all 3 walks we saw herds of deer quietly
observing us observing them! The primroses this year have been truly fantastic in numbers,
colour and scent. The wood anemonies are so pretty and delicate - a sea of white bells
growing on the green mossy bark of the fallen trees - it’s a beautiful contrast.

We write about the many beautiful things we see on Exmoor but of course pictures say far
more than we can. Derek has decided that it was about time we bought a camera and put our
scenes onto the blog for you to enjoy. Its a question of which camera,how to use it and how
to get it onto the website (plus its Derek trying to work it all out so this could take a
little while)!

Cloud Farm and Badgworthy Water

We had a lovely weekend - very busy with bed and breakfast guests, family and friends. The weather was so warm that we went down to Cloud Farm in the Doone valley near Brendon. When they were young, this used to be one of our children’s favorite places to visit and nothing much has changed in 25 years! There were children paddling and exploring the beautiful Badgworthy Water. This is such an interesting river with deep pools for swimming or just to sit and watch the trout. We also saw lots of frogs in the river and dippers flying up and down together with a pair of Grey Wagtails. Most importantly, we saw our first Swallows of the summer. Later on there will be House Martins and Sand Swifts nesting in the old quarry banks nearby. After the walk we sat in the sun in the gardens of Cloud and enjoyed a cup of tea. On the way back we stopped in the car park at the top of Porlock Hill to enjoy the fantastic view of the moors and right across the Channel to Wales. Tim however, was more interested in a rather large double cornet from Styles Ice Cream van!

Sunday was another beautiful Spring day. Some of our bed and breakfast guests went to Tarr Steps and then over to Lynton and Lynmouth to visit The Valley of the Rocks and to have a trip on the famous cog railway. Others went off to explore Dunster and Dunster Castle. After lunch, we went over to Winsford Hill and walked through The Allotments to Gypsy Corner and then on down to Broford and then around back over Winsford Hill where we saw a couple of hares boxing - another sign of Spring! Once again, a perfect end to a very happy weekend - relaxing and lots of laughs with everyone staying at our bed and breakfast home.