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
Well done to our guests Jim, Ruth and Roland who did the Endurance Life Coastal Challenge marathon yesterday. It must have been harder than ever in yesterday's hot conditions. We walked over Southcliffe to take a few pictures, but were a bit late to see many runners. We did spot a Red Kite above Lee Abbey and a Whitethroat in the Valley of Rocks when climbing up to Mother Meldrum's Cave for the first time. We also watched a bit of the local cricket game, which is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon when the weather is as nice as yesterday.
The tea garden at Lee Abbey reopened for the season today (Tuesday to Saturday), so we took the opportunity to revisit our circular walk to it. It is possible to get to the tea garden simply by walking through the Valley of Rocks and beyond, but we like to make the walk circular by going over Southcliffe on the way and through the Valley of Rocks on the way back. As usual the tea garden was a welcome break, serving excellent rolls, cakes and cream teas. On the way back we had to cut up to the higher path opposite Mother Meldrum's tearoom because someone (Sue) lost her sunglasses somewhere on the way. We have always wondered what it would be like, but had not climbed the almost vertical path before. When we got our breath back it was worth it because we got our first sighting of one of the Peregrine Falcons that live in the Valley of Rocks. Also a kind person had found Sue's sunglasses and left them on a tree.
Something caught our eye recently which might be of interest to anyone planning a visit over the coming Bank Holiday weekend. On the 30th and 31st May the gardens at Durcombe Water, Furzehill, Barbrook will be open for charity under the National Garden Scheme. The gardens cover two and a half acres including ponds, waterfalls, pergola walk, enclosed gardens, landscaped terraces, oriental garden, and newly created art gallery garden. £3 per adult. Did we mention the cream teas? . . . we will be there!
Yesterday we tried the circular walk from Bossington to Selworthy. There are various versions of this walk described in many walking books but we used the one from the South West Coast Path website which starts at the car park in Bossington. There is a gentle climb with wonderful views of Bossington beach towards Porlock Weir and a short diversion takes you to the disused Hurlstone Point coastguard station. Then comes the only serious climb in the walk . . . but it is a steep one up Hurlstone Combe. The area is good for spotting Stonechats and Dartford Warblers. We did spot lots of Stonechats but no Dartford Warblers as yet. After admiring the views from Selworthy Beacon the walk descends through woods to the pretty National Trust village of Selworthy (and it's excellent tearoom), then another nice woodland walk takes you back to the car park at Bossington. We really enjoyed this walk. It is a nice distance (five miles) and only has the one serious climb. We have put copies in the lounge as usual.
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