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
The latest Exmoor magazine features an interesting walk around the Horner Valley. It is a beautiful area near Porlock, well worth investigating. The walk is mostly woodland and includes the two Horner tea gardens, Horner Mill (pictured) and the Horner Hill sculpture trail, which looks fun. We have copies of the walk in the lounge, and the Exmoor magazine is quarterly, so should still be available in the shops for a couple of months.
Thanks to Sue and Steve who stayed recently for sending us these pictures from when they risked life and limb at the Dinosaur Park in Ilfracombe.
Some guests recently had told us that it is possible to get to the lookout tower on the coast at Lee Abbey. It is not really a walk we can recommend, because it is on private property, but we have heard it might be possible to get a visitors' pass. The walk to the tower is quite high up and right at the edge of the coast, so it gives unique views backwards towards the Valley of Rocks and Lee Bay. Close to the tower there was a perfectly placed bench to admire the views.
Two seasonal attractions come to an end soon: The very useful new bus service (the 401) will run this Wednesday and finally next Sunday. It has been very popular with our guests who used it to get to Dulverton, Tarr Steps, and even just down the road to Watersmeet or Hillsford Bridge. Sadly the tea garden at Lee Abbey also finishes its opening season on the 26th. We paid a final visit today and took a taster with us to make sure the cream teas are as good as ever!
Our guests Simon and Ruth made an excellent combination of attractions the other day. We were surprised we hadn't heard of anyone doing it before: The steam trains from the West Somerset Railway go from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard (near Taunton), but you can get a ticket to travel to the next stop at Dunster to visit the castle and have a look around. Also holders of West Somerset Railway tickets receive a 25% discount on entrance to the Castle . . . two birds with one stone!
An old path between Lynton and Lynmouth has been reopened recently. Some of our guests have been trying it and have told us it is an easier walk, so we tried it ourselves today. It is a slightly more gradual climb, but it starts at the end of the long car park in Lynmouth (which is a five minute walk from the entrance to the Cliff Railway) and finishes along North Walk after the hotels, which is about a ten minute walk to the Valley of Rocks Hotel. It is interesting to see how the old path has been reopened, but walking boots are essential as the path is not tarmac like the others, and is rocky and slippery in places.
The Annual Scarecrow Festival has started again. New scarecrows are appearing every day . . . it can seem quite strange if you haven't been to Lynton & Lynmouth at this time of year before. It is an annual event now, throughout the month of August.
