Happy Christmas!

As Christmas fast approaches it is the usual last minute panic regarding cards received but not sent, catering for the family who are arriving en-mass (‘do we really need all those potatoes’? ‘yes - its 25 and all will want mashed'), loosing all the forfeits for pass the parcel, trying to decide what to buy Soda, helping to organise the New Years Eve party…….. Derek’s contribution to the festive preparations so far has been a bunch of holly!!

The weather has been so much better than last year when, after cooking for all the family, no one could get here because of the snow. This resulted in a very impromptu lunch with many of our friends from the village.

We did have some snow last week when I took the dogs up to Cloutsham. While I was out walking we had heavy snow and sleet, gales and thunder and lightening all at the same time! I felt trifle a vulnerable but the dogs were totally un-phased by the whole and event and after 20 minutes the storm passed and we walked in brilliant sunshine.

To give this last script of 2011 a festive feel, I have attached photos taken early in the year during the snow.

Derek and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has stayed with us over the past year and we wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

Dunster by Candlelight

We have had a great few days. Tim and Beckie came down for Dunster by Candlelight bringing with them their friends Pip and John. We certainly had a houseful that weekend as many guests come to experience Dunster dressed up for Christmas. All the windows in the houses had candles burning in them, there were street entertainers, stalls selling all sorts of different gifts, music playing and all the shops were beautifully decorated and there was a wonderful atmosphere throughout.

The highlight for me was when Beckie asked if I would like to go with her and Pip while she tried on some wedding gowns at Parnham House in Dunster. It is a very special bridal shop and I have always wanted to go and in and have a browse. However, after 34 years of marriage I really don’t have the occasion! It completely lived up to my expectations and the gowns are gorgeous. When Beckie came out of the changing room she looked beautiful – I almost cried!

I recently went to Exeter to do a little bit of shopping and to see my old work colleagues at Exeter College. It was lovely to see them again and catch up with all their news. A lot has changed but several things remain the same.

As we are now closed for a few weeks, Charlotte and I have been busy giving everything a DEEP clean. In some ways I have been glad that the weather has been so rough as I haven’t been tempted to skive off all the time and go walking! But there have been some times where I just need to get out. Completely booted and waterproofed, the dogs and I have had some lovely long blustery walks over Exmoor – it is good to get fresh air in my face.

Derek has been suffering with a bad back but he has just had it treated so hopefully things will start to improve over the next few days. I have been trying to teach him some Pilates exercises but I starting to wonder if he is taking me seriously – those of you that know Derek will know what I mean!

I have been so fed up with this weather that I have resorted to looking at the photos taken in the summer!

Exmoor Dark Skies

Last weekend an event kicked a whole new era for the National Park after its recent award of International Dark Sky Reserve. Despite a damp start, the clouds rolled back leaving a sky full of twinkling stars. Even international space stations were gleaming and arcing high above Wimbleball Lake which has been nominated to be the first Dark Skies Discovery Centre on Exmoor.

So many people attended that there was trouble parking! Amongst the throngs were numerous experts armed with powerful telescopes and with laser torches they were able to guide people to watch various constellations, the Milky Way, nebulae and other distant stars.

This is only the first of a series of events that are being planned by the National Park. So if you like star gazing, keep a watch on The National Park website where details of all the events will be posted.

Once again we have been busy with allsorts of different things. I recently took part in the Wootton Courtenay All Stars show in the village hall. Together with 8 friends we (Corpse de Ballet) performed our version of the final scene of Swan Lake. Dressed in leggings and tutus we went down a storm!

This was closely followed by Wootton Courtenay pole dancing. I won’t go into details as you may find it distressing but suffice to say the act involved red fishnet tights, boa, blond wig, a pole and a lot of nerve! Afterwards Jane (friend) said that I had made quite a few men in the audience very happy. Derek (husband) said he thought I could get away with it for one more year and it maybe wise to wear a paper bag over my head for the next week! Unfortunately I have just been told that the clips are now going on You Tube! So if you want a good laugh………………

We have just returned from a short break in France which coming at the end of the season, was a greatly appreciated. Apart from rest and relaxation, it also gave us a chance to reflect on what a beautiful and special place Exmoor is and how lucky we are to have access to 267 square miles of such wonderful walking. The photos are some Derek has taken recently on the moor.

We have had wonderful news. Tim and Bex’s have announced their engagement with a wedding booked for early September 2012. We couldn’t be more thrilled and are so delighted that Bex’s is going to become our daughter-in-law (makes us sound so old)! It would seem that our first meeting with Bex’s didn’t put her totally off the Brown family.

This was the occasion that after having a nerve wracking drive across London (with me map reading – note to self ‘get a sat nav’), we arrived at the restaurant where I downed 2 glasses of white wine in quick succession (usually 1 makes me feel a little tipsy). I greeted Bex’s somewhat unsteadily and promptly asked her where she saw herself in 5 years time! This was closely followed by Derek slipping off the pavement onto his bottom outside Stringfellows (sober but clearly his eyes were elsewhere)! Jumping up (I use this term loosely) Derek brushed himself off and nonchalantly mentioned that his old SAS always came back into practice when needed. It was a testament to Bex’s sense of humour that she took it all in her stride.

Julie and Helen came down last week for a flying visit and to catch up on all the news. After lunch we went for a walk. I felt sure that it was going to brighten up so we decided on the Nutscale walk which involves negotiating the river at least twice – on reflection this was the wrong choice. Just after we left the truck it started to rain and continued for the 2 hours we were out. I won’t go into details but suffice to say that this has been named the ‘soggy Saga walk’ after Helen’s very near miss in the river and Julie’s boots still being in front of the fire steaming gently. However the dogs enjoyed it and that’s the main thing!

Photos

Sorry but for some reason the photos to go with the previous blog didn't upload - fingers crossed this time!

Busy times

Each season on Exmoor is heralded by its own different sights and sounds and autumn has its own special beauty. The trees are now turning yellow and golden and some are laden with berries. The air is cooler which means the dogs are more active than ever with them demanding longer and longer walks (such a pity)! There is the ever present smell of wood smoke drifting across the valleys from log burners, the sound of stags roaring during the rut and the sight of tractors hedge cutting.

The rut this year has been fantastic. We took the dogs over to Nutscale for a walk and in the 2 hours we were out we saw 7 stags with hinds. At one stage we were standing in a bowl surrounded by gentle hills on all sides and saw 3 stags – one was magnificent with looked like a royal head (rites and fore) with long white points.

We are having a very busy week this week with our bed and breakfast guests coming down to make the most of the half term break. Most have been going out and walking and exploring while other hardy souls are girding their loins and preparing for the (infamous) Exmoor Beast. This is either a 60 or 100mile bike race across Exmoor and on some of the steepest hills in the country (definitely NOT for the faint hearted)! Unfortunately once again Derek will be too busy washing up to participate. He is also concerned that his bike really isn’t up to it and he also informs me that his lycra shorts are getting a little on the tight side (too many cooked breakfasts)?!

Some of our visitors have taken advantage of the beautiful weather and have travelled from Porlock to Lynmouth in the open topped bus via Porlock Hill. Today was so lovely that I took mum on a short tour of Exmoor for the afternoon. The scenery was breathtaking and the sky so clear that we could see as far as Dartmoor. The photo is taken from the top of Porlock Hill looking down onto Porlock Bay.

Exmoor Rut

Apart from the increased need to use my glasses to read any form of instructions, forgetting completely the reason why I went upstairs and the ability to fall asleep just as my favourite programme is starting, the other reason why I know I am getting older is that time is going so fast. I try to write the blog each week (less I forget what we have been doing) but the days just seem to race past and before I know it it’s a fortnight since I last put finger to keyboard.

We have had some pretty hectic times being full up with our bed and breakfast guests, friends and family coming to stay plus seeing mums (both) and Lucy. Last weekend Alan and Trish came to stay again bringing their parents. Ronnie is 94 and Hazel a tad younger and they were full of life and laughter. Alan and Trish made the most of the beautiful weather and took them out everyday to enjoy Exmoor in her autumn glory. Other guests did some lovely walks we recommended and everyone went home tanned and very relaxed.

Autumn is well and truly here with the leaves turning beautiful shades of green, brown and orange in the woods. All the geraniums in the tubs are holding on and there is still a lot of colour in the flower beds – the hot weather last week gave everything an extra boost.

The rut has started and the stags have moved out of their bachelor groups and started to be interested in the female of the species! At night with the windows open you can hear the stags roaring – it’s quite a haunting sound in its own way. Up on the moor the stags are very evident with their coats a deep brown and their antlers looking magnificent as they round up their hinds. Derek took these photos at Cods End Moor above Exford last weekend and you can clearly see the colour difference and size between the stag and hinds.

We went up onto Winsford Hill yesterday and there were 3 of this years foals playing chase. They were galloping up and down the paths, bucking and kicking out at one another. All was fine until one slipped over with a crash but watching him I think it was only his pride that was dented!

Lucy has started a new job in a racing stable at South Molton and we popped down on Sunday to meet up with her and take her for a meal. She seems very tired but enjoying the work. Its long hours with little time off but she is riding up to 5 horses a day plus grooming, mucking out, working with horse dentists and farriers, strimming and learning a lot.

On Wednesday I took the dogs (minus Abby) for a walk up to Dunkery Beacon. It was beautiful and the dogs loved it. As we were walking down the other side towards Cloutsham, a herd of hinds and calves started to move off. As I stood and watched more and more started to appear from the heather and I should think that there were about 40 plus a very large stag. They look magnificent in the afternoon sun and their coats blended in so well with the vegetation. In the next couple of weeks the rut should begin and judging by the size of the stags it should be a formidable sight to watch and hear.

On Tuesday we looked out of the window and roughly counted about 100 deer quietly grazing on the side of Robin How. We were delighted as some of our bed and breakfast guests were really keen to see some deer and this was a sight to behold. However as we watched, Belinda rode up one side and down through the middle of the herd. Needless to say by the time Caroline and Julian came in most of the deer had disappeared! But at this time of year the deer are never too far away and we were able to show them some later on.

There is a circular walk that we often recommend which is from Winsford to Exford along the River Exe and back via Room Hill and following the river on the opposite bank. The trouble has been that there wasn’t a bridge so for anyone that didn’t want to do the full 8-9 miles it was a case of retracing their steps or getting their feet wet. But the National Park has now built a bridge across the river just above Nethercote so this beautiful walk can be halved. The grand opening was this week so Julie and Helen not so far to lug all the camera equipment but plenty of opportunity to take some more stunning photos!

A lovely and busy weekend!

We had a very busy weekend with lots of our bed and breakfast guests going to a wedding at Knowle Manor which is only about 2 miles from us. Knowle Manor a beautiful country house situated in its own grounds with a lake and is becoming a popular venue for weddings and large family parties. The weather was kind and by all accounts everyone had a wonderful day.

Tim and Bex’s came down for the weekend and it was lovely to see them again. On Saturday we went to Porlock and had a stroll around the town and spent a long time in the art gallery. The gallery tends to concentrate on the high quality work of local artists and pictures based on and around Exmoor. Luckily there were so many pictures I would have liked that I couldn’t decide on any!

We then went down to Porlock Weir and saw the arrival of another wedding party plus several guests that we knew. It was a lovely sight down on the harbour. After sustenance of Styles ice cream, we went home to pick the dogs up and took them to Blackford to pick blackberries. Then we went to The Blue Ball at Countisbury for a meal out – excellent company, traditional location and very good food – perfect!

Derek took them riding on Paddy and Rupert. I think that this is only about the third time that Tim has actually sat on a horse in his life. At the start of the ride, Tim commented on how easy it was and that it wasn’t tiring in the slightest. Moving on to a trot – he rapidly changed his opinion!

As we were busy doing change-over’s in the bedrooms on Sunday, Tim and Bex’s cooked Sunday roast followed by apple and blackberry crumble. It was delicious! Time went all too quickly and soon they were on their way home again. 2 hours of ironing followed by a walk with the dogs saw me collapsed on the sofa by about 8.00pm!

Derek is out riding today so I’m just about to load up the dogs and go blackberry picking again – the harvest is fantastic this year.

A walk on The Forest

Ron was up at the weekend and he and Derek went for a boy’s day out. Well on Exmoor that translates to a visit to Mole Valley Farmers at South Molton to buy a pair of waterproof leggings, a yard broom and of course 2 freshly cooked pork baps with apple sauce, extra crackling and a side order of roast potatoes courtesy of Kenniford Farm!

Once all the shopping was completed and nourishment taken, the boys set off with the dogs for a lovely walk from Brendon Two Gates over the area of the moor called The Forest. This was a royal hunting forest at one time but now there is hardly a tree to be seen – just vast open moorland - very dramatic and very beautiful.

They didn’t meet anyone on their travels, just a few Exmoor ponies with their stallion. This is part of the beauty of Exmoor. As it is relatively un-discovered, the occasions of meeting other people on walks are few and far between so you sense you have the whole place to yourself – a feeling not often experienced by many people today.

A brilliant afternoon's fun!

It was the annual August Bank Holiday Raft Race in Minehead on Sunday. Groups of totally mad people got together to ‘design’ and create all sorts of weird and wonderful rafts to get them across the bay at Minehead. While even madder people start further along the coast at Blue Anchor Bay. This year Lucy took part – an experience that she is not likely to forget!

Dressed in fashionable attire to compliment their theme of their raft (cowboys, super hero’s, farmers, Bill and Ben etc) and with one wet suite between them, they all bravely entered the water. If you can remember the weather last weekend it was true to form for a BH - i.e. not brilliant sunshine, very windy and the water was freezing.

Once afloat, Bill of Bill and Ben realised that he had left his paddle on the shore. The raft rapidly started going round in circles while he struck out for land to retrieve the paddle. Once safely back on board the raft started to sink and they had to be rescued. Things weren’t going entirely to plan with the stagecoach and tractor rafts either. The models where so tall that they acted like sails in the wind and despite valiant rowing attempts, both rafts started to sail backwards to where they started from.

Further on, Lucy’s more streamline super hero’s raft was doing well until they got caught in some pretty strong currents. They all had to be unceremoniously dumped into a fishing boat and Lucy has the bruises to prove it. Whereas the Smurfs stayed in the same place for about an hour – just going nowhere!

Needless to say the moment the race finished and the last lot were brought ashore, the wind dropped and the sea became beautifully calm! BUT everyone had a great time, lots of money was raised and the evening concluded with a great firework display. An event definitely worth going to next year.

P.S. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

View from work!

Like most people in life, I do occasionally get a little fed up with work and sometimes, just sometimes, I really don’t feel like making another bed or polishing another chest of draws. But then I look out of any of the bedroom windows and realise what a wonderful place to work! Derek took these pictures from The Dunkery Beacon on Thursday and I think you would agree that it’s not a bad view!

I knew that we were going to be pretty busy so I took the opportunity of taking the dogs out for a beautiful long walk along the River Exe from Winsford to Exford, up over Room Hill and then followed the river on the other side of bank back to the truck. It was perfect walking apart from one heavy shower. Soda and I took cover under some trees while Wistful and Wagtail had a happy 20 minutes routing around in the gorse bushes totally unaware of the rain!

Abby has become too lame now to go for long treks so I had to leave her at home to help Derek with the gardening. When I looked back in the mirror she was sitting in the drive looking so sad and apparently remained there until we came back some 4 hours later!

Fabulous few days

It’s been a very busy few days with lots of guests arriving and making the most of the lovely weather. The weather conditions of the past year have resulted in a glut of beautiful Dunster plums and greengages and we often have bags given to us. Each morning, I gently poach some, add a little sugar and put on the buffet table for breakfast. With a dollop of natural yoghurt they are perfection on a plate with the fresh fruit salad being relegated to second place!

Ron has been to stay for a few days and we all went to Dunster agriculture show on Friday and I should think it was a record number of visitors. It is held in the grounds of Dunster castle and with the sun shining, all the showing cattle and sheep groomed into an inch of their lives, live music plus all the stalls it really was a lovely day out.

We went to The Doone Valley yesterday afternoon and had a cup of tea at Cloud Farm in the tea garden. We then headed up into the hills up above Malmsmead and walked over to Dry Bridge. The sun was really hot and the sky was blue and enormous with just a few clouds dotted around The views over towards Aldermans Barrow and down towards Lynton and Lynmouth were fantastic. The smell of the heather was quite heady and full of honey.

On the way home we stopped at the top of Porlock Hill to have a Styles ice cream looking out over the Channel. Then onto Paul’s to get newly dug potatoes and freshly picked runner beans for tea. Ron drove back to East Devon with 40 pounds of runner beans for his poor old mum to prepare for the freezer! Up here on Exmoor you don’t have to go very far to get the best out of life.

Exford Show

On Wednesday we went to Exford Show which is held in the middle of Exmoor and surrounded by the most stunning scenery. Despite all that goes on in the world there are 2 things that remain constant – the show is a lovely day out, a real social gathering and secondly that the wind always blows up there!

Our friends Julie and Lori are staying with us and they had 2 of Wagtails puppies. They managed to meet up with John and Lin who had another 2 of the litter. The dogs all got on well and it was great to see how they have grown and what characters each of them have developed. For about 60 seconds they stopped playing which enabled Derek to get a picture of them.

The standard of entry in all the classes was very high from Exmoor Horn sheep to working hunters, Exmoor ponies and of course all the family dog show classes. Many of the Exmoor characters were present plus lots of craft stalls and local produce. I managed to buy a couple of presents – I just have to remember where I put them for safe keeping between now and Christmas!

I’m waiting for Derek to return from his walk so I can nip up to Wheddon Cross to sample my first zumbar class. I have a horrid feeling I am going to ache and feel rather tired tomorrow but it should be good fun.