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.