an exmoor b&b owned and managed by sue & andy north
guest house and b&b, lynton, north devon
34 lee road, lynton EX35 6BS tel: 01598 753328
We were sent a leaflet recently, mainly about places to eat in North Devon and it mentioned Hidden Valley, which is somewhere new to us. We must have driven by often as it is on the road between Braunton and Ilfracombe. We stopped in today to investigate. Although it is mainly a camp site, it is set in a peaceful wooded valley and includes nature trails that are open to non-residents. There is also a coffee shop with a large patio overlooking the lake and woods.
Here's a walk not for the faint-hearted: A good way to walk some of the coastal path eastwards from Lynton is to get the bus to County Gate (pictured) and walk home. However, it is possible to make a circular walk from here to include County Gate as our recent guests Liana and Geoff did. The seven hour (plus) walk takes in Watersmeet, Rockford and Brendon, then up to County Gate and back along the Coastal Path. We always wondered how far that would
be . . . 15 miles according to L&Gs gps device!
Thanks to our recent guest Andrew for the pictures of Dunkery Beacon and Castle Drogo. Dunkery Beacon is the highest point on Exmoor and the views on a clear day are wonderful. It is easy to drive to the Dunkery Hill car park and walk to the summit, or park at Horner Wood and make a circular walk incorporating the beacon. We have put a larger version of the picture in the picture gallery.
Castle Drogo is actually within Dartmoor National Park, near Exeter, but is only a two hour drive from Lynton. The National Trust castle is said to be the last castle to be built in England and sits over the Teign Gorge with views over Dartmoor. It is possible to visit the Castle, or just the garden, grounds and visitor centre.
The wonderful weather lately has made us start thinking about cream teas again. As usual in the name of research we will be visiting our usual places, as well as constantly searching for new ones so we can advise our guests accordingly! The good news lately is that our favourite place, Rocklyn is opening when the weather is nice. We paid a visit today and it is still number one! Heading from Lynmouth towards Watersmeet it's the last house on the left.
Several of the national newspapers have recently been featuring the story about the 'No Parking' tree between Lynton and Lynmouth. The tree was officially registered as a new species of Whitebeam 30 years ago and as locals had always referred to it as the 'no parking tree' it was named the No Parking Whitebeam. More recently it has been proved to be an entirely new species using biochemical analyses. So if anyone visiting the area would like to have a look at the 'Sorbus No Parking' it is in the staff lay-by on the Watersmeet Road. Julian Gurney, the National Trust warden tells us that there are also several just past Watersmeet on the path to Rockford as well.
North Devon Council, in conjunction with the Food Standards Agency now run a rating scheme in our area called 'Scores on the Doors', a 5-star scheme which provides information about hygiene and compliance with the law in food premises. All registered food premises will be issued with a rating. We were paid a visit today and are now the proud owners of a 5-star certificate (and window sticker).
We visited a place near Porlock the other day called Webber's Post. All our guests who have been coming here for a long time seem to know about this place, but we only discovered it last year. It is just a car park looking out over Horner Wood and Dunkery Beacon, but the views are wonderful, and must be even more spectacular when the heather is at its best. It is no coincidence that the lovely Horner Mill tea gardens are just a few minutes away!
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