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
Thanks to Julie and Alan for sending us these great pictures taken while walking from Lynton to Combe Martin, showing the heather near Heddon's Mouth and back towards Combe Martin. We will put larger size versions on the 'Local Pictures' page.
We planned to take a quick drive around the Dunkery area today to see the heather at its peak, and take some pictures (after visiting the excellent Kitnors Tearoom at Bossington). On the way back we spotted an area near Countisbury which looked great for heather pictures. It turned out to be somewhere we are ashamed to say we have never visited. We had seen cars parked there before, just off the road, but did not realise that it was the car park at the start of a walk to Foreland Point . . . about ten minutes drive from here! We only had time to investigate the start of the walk, but we will investigate it all soon. The views of Foreland were wonderful, and must be even better when doing the whole walk, some of which must look back towards Lynton and Lynmouth. We also saw a large herd of deer (pictured below).
Many of our guests visit the excellent beaches just a short drive from here at Croyde, Putsborough, Woolacombe and Braunton, and our guests Amy and Clark recently enjoyed surfing lessons with the Point Breaks watersports company, based at Croyde Bay. The full day course started with a morning in the classroom before spending an afternoon in the water (at Putsborough rather than Croyde because of tidal conditions). The company also provides tuition in other watersports and sounds like a great thing to book ahead before a visit to the area:
http://www.pointbreaks.com
Dunkery Beacon and the surrounding area is one of the best places to view the Exmoor heather. We are just approaching the time when it is at its best. We took a drive there yesterday and also did the walk to the beacon itself, which takes about 15 minutes along a stony track. From the top the views are wonderful, and on a clear day you can see as far as the Brecon Beacons, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor. Although the pictures make it look quiet, there are always quite a lot of people there (even some cyclists yesterday!)
We think we have reached a verdict on the mystery painting mentioned earlier. We were sent this picture by a lady who was trying to identify it. Our guests are unanimous in thinking that it is the Great Hangman at Combe Martin. The problem is in the angle it is viewed from. There is almost certainly nowhere that looks back towards the Great Hangman like this, so we think the artist may have done a rough sketch from a boat and probably invented the foreground later (something he did sometimes, apparently).
Thanks to our recent guests Robin and Ian for sending us this picture of goats posing on North Walk. It is always worth having a camera with you around North Walk and the Valley of Rocks even if you are just having a quick stroll . . . apart from the stunning views you never know what you might see! We've put a larger version in the picture gallery.
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