Exmoor 1981

Day 1

Ealing to Somerset

Rob and I made sandwiches for lunch and dinner, and set off in our old Austin Maxi, taking the M3, A303 and A358. We skirted Taunton, and ended up on a quiet lane near Blue Anchor Bay, Minehead. The Maxi had seats that reclined fully, so we spent the night in the car.

Day 2

Minehead to Combe Martin

A cold front had come through overnight, and we woke up to a brisk but clear day. We drove into Minehead and found a small cafe for breakfast. We poured over our Yellow OS 1:25.000 map of Exmoor and then took the B3223 across Exmoor.

We immediately fell in love with the seeming health and vitality of Exmoor, with it’s open moorland sprinkled with ancient woodland, traditional farms, and pretty villages. It seemed to hark back to more innocent times and totally caught our imagination.

We stopped at the moor’s highest point Dunkery beacon and got caught in a short shower complete with rainbow. We had no agenda and just went where our fancy took us, heading vaguely back towards the coast.

We passed through tiny villages like Exford, Parracombe, Martinhoe and Trentishoe, before arriving in Combe Martin in bright sunshine.

We spent some time in Combe Martin exploring the rockpools and caves.

We drove a little way along the coast road towards Ilfracombe, before deciding to stretch our legs on the SW Coastal Path.

We re-parked in Combe Martin and took the clifftop walk out of town to the east as far as Culver’s Cliff and Little Hangman, with it’s huge views across the Bristol Channel towards South Wales.

We had a pie and a pint (or two) in the evening and then found a place on the cliff tops where we spent the night. It was quite exposed up there, and we felt the car moving in the wind. It also rained heavily at times, but there’s something comforting about experiencing the elements whilst tucked-up inside a nice warm sleeping bag, especially since in those days, I had a functioning bladder! In-between showers, we were rewarded with views across to the twinkling lights of South Wales.

Day 3

Combe Martin to Lynton

We set off back into Exmoor, and headed east via Hunter’s Inn, Woody Bay and Lee Abbey towards Lynton, and at Valley of the Rocks, we parked the car and did a little scrambling amongst the craggy pinnacles.

We then walked along the road into Lynton and then took the impressive coastal path (there were several places with vertical drops to the waves below) back to Valley of the Rocks.

We drove down to Lynmouth for some lunch, and parked the car under the cliffs under darkening skies. We sat and watched the rain for a couple of hours before returning to our spot on the cliffs near Combe Martin.

Day 4

Combe Martin, Woody Bay

There was lot’s of evidence of overnight storm damage, with twigs and branches littering the minor roads. We drove down to Woody Bay, then Lee Abbey Bay.

We spent the evening playing pool in the Hunter’s Inn in the Heddon Valley, and slept in the car parked nearby.

Day 5

Lynmouth and the East Lyn River, then home.

We returned to Lynmouth, parked the car, found a cafe for breakfast,and had a little wander round. We then walked up the East Lyn River to Watersmeet, and from there, we took the right-hand fork of the river as it turned into the cascades of the Hoar Oak Water. We pushed on as far as we could, before returning to the National Trust cafeteria at Watersmeet for a well-earned cup of tea.

We then crossed Exmoor as far as Exbridge, before heading back to Ealing.