There are two National Parks in Devon: Dartmoor in the south and (a bit of) Exmoor in the north. The majority of Exmoor National Park (c.70%) actually sits within Somerset. It was designated as a National Park in 1954 and an International Dark Sky Reserve in 2011. The latter designation is thanks to the fact it enjoys the darkest skies in the UK and this status helps to protect them. Exmoor's lovely skies look down on a mix of moorland, woodland, farmland and a stretch of coastline. We only had one day to explore so we had to think hard about what we wanted to experience. It is best known for its moorland but as we were planning a moorland walk on Dartmoor, we decided to go for something different. In the end, we decided to visit the Valley of Rocks and do a short stretch of the South West Coast Path National Trail. The South West Coast Path National Trail (www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk) is the longest National Trail in the country, at 630 miles long. It starts at Minehead in Someset and follows the north coast of Devon to Cornwall. It runs the entire way around the Cornish coastline, then along the south coast of Devon to Poole Harbour in Dorset. We only walked a tiny stretch of it in North Devon. Our trip to Devon was a chance to spend some time with Simon's parents, who live in Tiverton. We therefore travelled to Lynton and started the Valley of Rocks walk together (following Route 17 outlined in the Discovery Walking Guides book 'Walk! Exmoor' by David & Carol Hitt). When the path became steeper and rougher, Peter & Shelia returned to Lynton and drove to the Valley of Rocks car park, where we met them again later. The Valley of Rocks is a dry river valley that runs roughly parallel to the coastline, and its unique rock formations and wild goats draw in tourists - as does the fact that a road that runs through it, giving easy access to the area. Our walk took us high up on a hill and we stopped for lunch on a convenient bench with a clear view of the valley below. The road and car park below slightly marred the scenery but we loved the fact we were able to see Peter & Shelia arrive, far below. After lunch we took a path that zigzagged down the lush, green hillside until it arrived at Lee Abbey, where we joined the South West Coast Path. We followed this into the Valley of Rocks, where we met up with Peter and Shelia for tea, ice-creams and cake at Mother Meldrum's Tea Gardens. (It was also a convenient mid-hike toilet-stop - anyone who has read my previous posts will know the location of toilets on a day out is a mild obsession of mine!) After a refreshing break, Simon, the kids and I returned to the South West Coast Path and followed it as it skirted around the edge of the cliffs and led us back to Lynton. There were great views and some pretty cute goats (including a young one who was bleating mournfully as he'd lost his mother, then went streaking up the path when he spotted her). We had a lovely day out in Exmoor but are very aware that there is so much more to explore and plenty of moorland walks to enjoy. So, I'm sure we'll be back - and perhaps we'll bring Simon's telescope next time, so that we can make the most of the dark skies too.
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We spent the late May bank holiday weekend visiting Simon's parents in Devon and used it as an opportunity to visit two National Parks: Exmoor and Dartmoor. Both are known for their moorlands (the clue is in their names!) but we wanted to have quite different experiences to keep it interesting.
We decided on a walk around the Valley of Rocks in Exmoor, so avoiding most of the moorland scenery but taking in some unique coastal views. For Dartmoor, we went all-out adventurous and undertook our first ever wild camping trip! More on both another time... |
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