Friends

We have had a very busy time recently with lots of guests staying with us for the first time and others who have become good friends. Julie and Lori came down again and we went out for a lovely meal with them to Lapsewood Restaurant in Porlock.

Derek has been able to bring back his 2 horses from their summer holiday and start riding them this week so he took Julie out for a lovely long ride through Huntscott and Luccombe then up to Webbers Post to Dunkery and down the track to home. It was a beautiful day and both horses and riders had a wonderful time (Lori and I had coffee and a chat on the veranda with the dogs for company – very civilized)!

We are very lucky to have made such good friends with lots of interesting and lovely people - Barry and Anne from Cornwall have just returned today for another weeks holiday and Julie and Helen are coming down again in October (which is always a guarantee of a good time). Helen is coming down also in October and we are planning to walk from here over to Malsmead with the dogs (but not Abby this time as she is getting a little old for such a long walk) and Derek will drive over and pick us up. Another Helen is coming again this October with a group of 14 friends for a few days walking.

The Red Deer rut starts in October so hopefully all our guests will be able to see some of the magnificent stags. Some of our guests have just returned from a morning with a friend of ours who owns Red Deer Safari. They were thrilled at being shown so much – herds of deer including stags, Exmoor ponies and lots of different birdlife as well as being told about the history of the area

I managed to grab a couple of hours last evening and walked up to Span Gate and home via Annicombe. It was a different climate up on the slopes of Dunkery with magnificent clouds and strong winds. The dogs loved it and spent a happy time chasing about in the bracken. On the way back there were loads of blackberries which the 2 younger spaniels love. Wagtail will wait until you pick them and give them to her while her daughter Wistful will pick them off the brambles (very carefully). As we walked home, I looked down from the path and saw 2 big hinds eating the leaves of the bushes – they were no more than 15 feet away from us but because of the direction the wind was blowing they were totally oblivious to me. After about 5 minutes one glanced up and did a double take to see us standing there and they wandered off down into the valley.