Exmoor activities

Our b and b guests come and stay with us at the Dunkery Beacon for a variety of reasons. Dawn bought her husband Mike a day flying birds of prey at Exmoor Falconry Centre as a surprise birthday present. As you can see from the photo, Mike really entered into the spirit of the occasion wearing all the right gear but I'm not sure who was the more wary of the other - Mike or the bird!


Other guests and friends like Julie and Helen come for the opportunities to take fabulous photos of the wildlife and scenery. Armed with an amazing array of lenses and other equipment, they are able to take lovely pictures of Exmoor at its best. However, there does seem to be a little bit of rival between Julie and Derek as to who can take the best shot and I suspect that this will heat up even more when Julie and Helen arrive on Monday - a case of tripods at dawn! Below is one that Julie took on a trip down to Exmoor earlier in the year.

Derek went for an early morning walk yesterday in Snowdrop Valley which is just up the road from us. Rounding the bend, there was a group of 6 hinds on the track and on seeing Derek they quickly disappeared into the trees lining the valley - it was still a lovely sight in the early morning sun. There is always so much to see up here and often when you least expect it!

Exmoor illustrated

Our niece Katie and her partner Aaron have designed and constructed our smashing new website from their company Slurpy Studios . It contains many new photos taken by Derek and also Andy from A@B Photography in Minehead so you may like to take a browse around. The one important thing for us is that we can now share even more what goes on up here on Exmoor through updated photos on the blog. From Soda and me on the epic crossing of the Exe at Larcombe Foot, to the beauty of a deer calve above Exford.

The signs of Autumn are getting stronger. The swallows are starting to gather in preparation for their long journey to Africa, corn fields are being ploughed ready for the next crop to be planted, the hazelnuts are starting to drop and the berries on many of the trees at Blackford are vivid. Yesterday we went up to Aldermans Barrow and watched a large herd of hinds with their stag. Down from the slopes, 3 other stags approached the herd and started to contest the right to be in charge! The rutting season has begun!

Our garden is still very colourful and the Indian summer is giving a boost to the roses and geraniums and even the sweet peas are still blooming. Derek is off to Paul’s at Hunstcott to get the wallflowers ready to plant in the borders for early spring colour. Our B&B guests are enjoying the weather and making the most of the beautiful walking. At the moment we have a party of friends in who are spending 4 days exploring and walking their way over Exmoor. Last week saw the Tour of Britain come through Winsford and Dulverton. A couple of our visitors went over and enjoyed watching the sight!

Autumn on Exmoor

Autumn on Exmoor is a special time of year – the light on the moor is especially wonderful. The run of lovely weather we have this month has bought many visitors to our bed and breakfast home to enjoy the beauty of this area. Yesterday Derek and I took the dogs over to Cloutsham and saw a spectacular sight of a herd of about 70 hinds and calves lying in the evening sun on the slopes of Dunkery. It won’t be long before the stags start their autumn rut when they contest each other for the favours of the hinds. Behind us on Stoke Pero Common were a couple of herds of Exmoor ponies and their foals grazing, enjoying the last of the warmth of the day’s sun while the dogs pottered around sloshing about in the stream.

Today, I went over to Selworthy and walked towards Selworthy Beacon and Hurlestone Point. In just an hour, I walked through ancient woodlands, up onto open moorland on North Hill and looked over the coastline towards Wales and down over fields and the Vale of Porlock. There is always something different to see in such a short time – all of it beautiful and dramatic.

Most of the fields of corn have been harvested and some already ploughed and worked down for the next season’s crops. The tractor trimmers have been busy tidying up the hedges. I have been trying to beat them to pick the blackberries and get a few supplies in for the freezer! We popped down to Ashwick yesterday to get another load of wood for the wood burners. Its all lovely dry beech and ash – ideal for getting a good fire going. How my values have changed - I never thought I would be so contented to see 2 years seasoned wood ready and waiting (must be the squirreling instinct in me coming out)!!

Autumn is here

The seasons are turning once again and autumn is coming. I was out walking the other evening with the dogs and by 8.00 it was coming in dark – I always forget how quickly everything changes. But autumn does bring its benefits especially in the way of nature’s larder. The hedgerows are full of blackberries and my sister is providing us with plenty of apples from her garden – blackberry and apple pie with clotted cream for pud tonight – Derek will be pleased!

The berries on the mountain ash are stunning – vivid red that really stand out especially against a blue sky and this year there is an abundance of berries. There are also loads of hazelnuts ready for the picking. The ones that have already fallen onto the lanes and crushed are quickly scooped up by the chaffinches, sparrows and other small birds.

Looking out across the lawn, Derek noticed a small pile of soft grey feathers that once belonged to a dove that nested in the trees at the bottom of the garden. The culprit was a very swift and beautiful sparrow hawk who seems to have taken a liking to our garden as its hunting ground. We won’t be feeding the birds until he has found another venue!

Derek has been out exercising the horses over towards Allerford and has come back with news about the pair of merlins which have been nesting in a stone barn down at Blackford. They now seem to have moved and seem to be spending a lot of time in a couple of oak trees by the racecourse. The house martins have finished raising their second brood in the eaves at the front of the house but no signs yet that they or the swallows are grouping to migrate – sign of an Indian summer maybe?

September Already!

I can't believe its September already! Over the past few days we have been incredibly busy and have met a host of interesting and lovely people who have come and stayed with us for bed and breakfast. We ideally situated for walking or exploring this beautiful and undiscovered National Park being so near many interesting places. Feeling rested and relaxed, they come as guests and leave as friends and everyone (including us) had a great time.

There is always something going on in the area to suit all tastes. Selworthy village has just had its beautiful flower festival and this then coming weekend for the more active, the British Heart Foundation Bike Race is being held. There are 5 routes to choose from so for people just starting out there is the 12.5km route, followed by a 25, 50, 75 and a mega 100km for the really experienced rider all starting and finishing this year in the beautiful village of Porlock which is only 4 miles away from us.
Then on the 17th and 18th of September there are the 2 stages of the Tour of Britain. Last year 70,000 turned out on a gloriously sunny day to watch the 112 riders from around the world racing from sea level to cliff top in minutes, all chasing that coveted yellow jersey.

The two race routes will cover a total of 346kms and pass through a number of towns and villages in Somerset and Devon. 96 internationally elite cyclists, including a Great Britain team, will tackle six grueling climbs through the picturesque landscape of the two counties. Day 6 of this 8 day race starts in Frome passing Dulverton and Simonsbath on the way to Bideford with day 7 from Hatherleigh to Yeovil.
So from relaxing beauty to tough endurance, Exmoor has something to suite all tastes and all ages!