We have had another very busy week with our bed and breakfast guests who have made the most of the weather and either walked/cycled or driven over the moor to see the wonderful countryside.
Derek and I went over to Aldermans Barrow on Thursday and walked over part of the moor called The Forest (so called because it used to be a Royal hunting forest). This is a high area of the moor above Porlock and because it is very open it can appear quite wild and windswept. It is actually very beautiful and you can walk for miles over to the Doone Valley and into Badgeworthy Water without seeing a soul. We walked into little valleys with streams and then up over the top of hills where we could see for miles. The air was really heavy with the smell of honey from the heather – we could almost taste it. I always try to have a jar of Exmoor honey for our bed and breakfast guests to try with their breakfast – it’s absolutely delicious!
On the way over, we passed an area called the Enclosure and on the horizon were 5 magnificent stags all with full sets of antlers. One of them was as big as a moose! He had enormous antlers and will be a spectacular sight come October when the rut begins
We have a very good restaurant in the village called Ranscombe Farm which is run by husband and wife team Andy and Clare. Andy does front of house and Clare all the cooking. They provide an excellent menu using locally sourced produce wherever possible at a very reasonable price. Its only ¾ mile down the road and with a torch in hand, it’s a very pleasant stroll back to the Dunkery Beacon. We often recommend our guests to eat there and last night 8 of our guests enjoyed a lovely evening. Although they all went separately, they walked back together and found many interests and people in common – it is a very small world!
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
The Secret Cave by Margaret O’Hara
We have been very busy the past week with all of our bed and breakfast guests. Coming down for a whole variety of reasons – birthdays celebrations, wedding anniversary, a break from work, cycling and walking holidays or re-visiting old haunts – everyone has made the most of their stay with us!
In Wootton Courtenay, we have a host of very talented people. A very dear friend of ours has just had her first book published. The Secret Cave by Margaret O’Hara is set on Exmoor and the original stories were told by Margaret’s husband Brian to their six grandsons who spend many happy hours playing on the moor in their holidays.
It tells the adventures of 3 young friends and their vegetarian Welsh dragon called Llewellyn and how they capture a gang or armed bank robbers! It has been beautifully illustrated by Margaret and Brian’s daughter who is a trained artist and published by Rare Books and Berry who deal mainly with books about Exmoor. The Secret Cave is a delight to read and makes the perfect present. Nick Smith, Literary Editor of Bookdealer magazine writes of The Secret Cave,
‘Part Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and part Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons, Margaret O’Hara’s The Secret Cave is rooted deeply in the simple tradition of kids enjoying a good old-fashioned adventure’
At this time of year there is always something to see and do. Next Saturday the 25th of July is the Mid Devon Show at Hartnoll Farm Tiverton. This is a lovely country agricultural show and the forecast for the weekend is set to be fine and sunny. There will be rural crafts, flowers and produce stands, vintage tractors, top quality livestock and working heavy horses.
On Wednesday 29th July Dunster Country Fair takes place. Held in the beautiful grounds of Dunster castle, the Fair started out as a Donkey Derby. It aims to promote country sports and the country way of life by bringing together horses, hounds and dogs of every description, a fine range of country pursuits and activities and amusements for young and old alike. There will be an Exmoor Pony Show, aFell Pony Show, Hound Show, Terrier and Lurcher Shows, Minehead and District Canine Society Show, Ferret Racing, Team events for Riding Clubs and Pony Clubs, Trade Stands, Craft Tent, Falconry Display, Parade of Hounds, Licensed Bar, Refreshments.
In Wootton Courtenay, we have a host of very talented people. A very dear friend of ours has just had her first book published. The Secret Cave by Margaret O’Hara is set on Exmoor and the original stories were told by Margaret’s husband Brian to their six grandsons who spend many happy hours playing on the moor in their holidays.
It tells the adventures of 3 young friends and their vegetarian Welsh dragon called Llewellyn and how they capture a gang or armed bank robbers! It has been beautifully illustrated by Margaret and Brian’s daughter who is a trained artist and published by Rare Books and Berry who deal mainly with books about Exmoor. The Secret Cave is a delight to read and makes the perfect present. Nick Smith, Literary Editor of Bookdealer magazine writes of The Secret Cave,
‘Part Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and part Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons, Margaret O’Hara’s The Secret Cave is rooted deeply in the simple tradition of kids enjoying a good old-fashioned adventure’
At this time of year there is always something to see and do. Next Saturday the 25th of July is the Mid Devon Show at Hartnoll Farm Tiverton. This is a lovely country agricultural show and the forecast for the weekend is set to be fine and sunny. There will be rural crafts, flowers and produce stands, vintage tractors, top quality livestock and working heavy horses.
On Wednesday 29th July Dunster Country Fair takes place. Held in the beautiful grounds of Dunster castle, the Fair started out as a Donkey Derby. It aims to promote country sports and the country way of life by bringing together horses, hounds and dogs of every description, a fine range of country pursuits and activities and amusements for young and old alike. There will be an Exmoor Pony Show, aFell Pony Show, Hound Show, Terrier and Lurcher Shows, Minehead and District Canine Society Show, Ferret Racing, Team events for Riding Clubs and Pony Clubs, Trade Stands, Craft Tent, Falconry Display, Parade of Hounds, Licensed Bar, Refreshments.
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Next Sunday - Porlock Country Fair and Show
We have had a busy week with our bed and breakfast guests and working in the garden. Derek has finished landscaping the steps and the wall and so we spent a day at Otter Nurseries selecting plants to fill the new bed, a couple of chairs for the veranda plus a very handsome stone toad that my sister had previously taken a fancy to. However, I have to confess he looks so at home on our wall, I think he is going to have to stay with us, so another trip to the nurseries is on the cards!
The other new beds look as if they have always been there and the plants have taken really well. We have a lot of roses in the garden and they have been fantastic this year so we are always dead heading. The warm weather has meant that Derek is always cutting or about to cut the lawn but it really looks lovely.
We had friends from East Devon come up for the day yesterday. We met Sue and Ray at The Royal Oak in Winsford where we had a excellent lunch and then walked along by the river at Larcombe Foot. Later on we drove back to The Dunkery Beacon for tea - it was a lovely day – impromptu and relaxed, just catching up with news of families and friends.
Derek was out walking on Monday evening over by Codsend Moor where he found a one week old deer calf. He was nestled right into the grass and could hardly be seen and for once, Derek had his camera so he has got some great photos to put into the album. Derek has just this minute come back from near Hindon Farm where he has been watching 8 big stags grazing in a field of roots (don’t expect that the farmer is too happy)!
We had a couple of very keen cyclists staying with us this week for bed and breakfast. Most of the time, they cycled from The Dunkery Beacon and covered a lot of miles. Some new cycle routes have been opened up in the Crown Estate forests behind Dunster castle. Sonja and Tristan explored these together with a trip over to Porlock and back over the moor via the Doone Valley plus an excursion over to Exford, Winsford and beyond coming home each day tired but very happy!
Another couple are revisiting their childhood memories and catching up on relations they haven’t seen for many years. So many people we have met have associations with this beautiful area and look forward to coming back time and again.
Next Sunday is Porlock Country Fair and Show. This is a lovely day out in a beautiful setting and it includes crafts, local produce, a variety of demonstrations including archery and falconry (hopefully the falconry will be positioned a little way from the archery)! Here is a dog show, family fun, games plus a beer tent and cream teas – something for everyone!
The other new beds look as if they have always been there and the plants have taken really well. We have a lot of roses in the garden and they have been fantastic this year so we are always dead heading. The warm weather has meant that Derek is always cutting or about to cut the lawn but it really looks lovely.
We had friends from East Devon come up for the day yesterday. We met Sue and Ray at The Royal Oak in Winsford where we had a excellent lunch and then walked along by the river at Larcombe Foot. Later on we drove back to The Dunkery Beacon for tea - it was a lovely day – impromptu and relaxed, just catching up with news of families and friends.
Derek was out walking on Monday evening over by Codsend Moor where he found a one week old deer calf. He was nestled right into the grass and could hardly be seen and for once, Derek had his camera so he has got some great photos to put into the album. Derek has just this minute come back from near Hindon Farm where he has been watching 8 big stags grazing in a field of roots (don’t expect that the farmer is too happy)!
We had a couple of very keen cyclists staying with us this week for bed and breakfast. Most of the time, they cycled from The Dunkery Beacon and covered a lot of miles. Some new cycle routes have been opened up in the Crown Estate forests behind Dunster castle. Sonja and Tristan explored these together with a trip over to Porlock and back over the moor via the Doone Valley plus an excursion over to Exford, Winsford and beyond coming home each day tired but very happy!
Another couple are revisiting their childhood memories and catching up on relations they haven’t seen for many years. So many people we have met have associations with this beautiful area and look forward to coming back time and again.
Next Sunday is Porlock Country Fair and Show. This is a lovely day out in a beautiful setting and it includes crafts, local produce, a variety of demonstrations including archery and falconry (hopefully the falconry will be positioned a little way from the archery)! Here is a dog show, family fun, games plus a beer tent and cream teas – something for everyone!
Friday, 3 July 2009
Nutscale
The heavy rain we had yesterday cleared the humid atmosphere and left us with a beautiful day of brilliant sunshine. I took the dogs up onto Nutscale and it seems as if all of nature was out enjoying the fantastic weather - the air warm and soft. The skylarks were in abundance and seemed to be vying with the stonechats as to who sing the loudest! We took a break down by the river where I watched the vivid dragon flies dancing and the fish darting amongst the stones – so visible in the clear water.
The dogs spent a great time sloshing about and then digging in the banks. Soda was kept happy by a continuous supply of sticks being thrown into the deep pools where she swam to her hearts content. Further on, a herd of hinds kept an eye on us from the brow of a hill. Across the valley, one barked at us in rapid succession to warn the others of our impending arrival in their space.
The moor is looking so lush after the warm rain and the heather is starting to turn purple. Amongst the bracken, the purple foxgloves stand tall, waving in the breeze and playing host to bees busy in their pursuit of nectar. On the way back, something caught my eye on the road and on investigation it was a slow worm basking in the heat. I carefully picked him up out of the way of the vehicles so he could enjoy another day!
The scent of the moor is beautiful and in the 2 hours I was walking, I didn’t meet another soul – it was so quiet and peaceful and on reflection, it was a most perfect walk.
The dogs spent a great time sloshing about and then digging in the banks. Soda was kept happy by a continuous supply of sticks being thrown into the deep pools where she swam to her hearts content. Further on, a herd of hinds kept an eye on us from the brow of a hill. Across the valley, one barked at us in rapid succession to warn the others of our impending arrival in their space.
The moor is looking so lush after the warm rain and the heather is starting to turn purple. Amongst the bracken, the purple foxgloves stand tall, waving in the breeze and playing host to bees busy in their pursuit of nectar. On the way back, something caught my eye on the road and on investigation it was a slow worm basking in the heat. I carefully picked him up out of the way of the vehicles so he could enjoy another day!
The scent of the moor is beautiful and in the 2 hours I was walking, I didn’t meet another soul – it was so quiet and peaceful and on reflection, it was a most perfect walk.
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