North Devon: Lynmouth, Exmoor and Dunster

A couple of days ago, we headed north from Westward Ho! to Exmoor.  On the way, we stopped at Lynmouth.  I think I first visited this pretty seaside village in the early 1980's.  Since then, I have returned often, primarily to share its beauty with travelling companions.  

The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers, in a gorge 700 feet (210 m) below Lynton.  The towns are connected, not only by road, but by a funicular tramway.

From Lynmouth, we continued heading east and our next stop was a photo op on Exmoor to see the ponies that roam here.  The Exmoor pony is actually a recognized horse breed native to the British Isles.  They are only wild in the sense that the herds roam freely on the moor, for all the ponies belong to someone.  A few years ago people were afraid that the pony might become extinct so the National Park Authority bought young stock and now owns two herds. There are currently eleven other privately owned herds that run on the different commons within the Exmoor National Park.  We also loved the signs!

We continued to our destination, Dunster, a pretty village just east of Minehead sitting at the base of Dunster Castle.  We had left Devon behind and were now in Somerset.  The Dunster website states that the village is probably the largest and most intact medieval village in England. I have driven through or by this village numerous times and have always wanted to stay here.  This time I got my wish.  The hotel where we stayed is a grade 2 listed building, dating from the 1700’s.  I expect that the building was originally a coaching inn given the entrance to what is now the car park.  It was a bit harrowing driving the car through that but, with my friend's encouragement, we did it with, literally, inches to spare!  

Aside from its castle which dates from 1000 years ago, Dunster is also famous for its Yarn Market.  Built in 1609, it sits in the middle of the high street as a monument to the town's once flourishing cloth trade. Before it was built, most of the buying and selling would have been done in the open air, but the English weather being what it is, there must have been occasions when trading was halted by wind or rain. Sellers must also have been worried about the security of their goods. The Yarn Market was a permanent solution to all these problems.

The following day, we left Dunster and Somerset and headed for the Cotwolds.  This area will be our focus for the last remaining days of my vacation.  First up:  Bourton-on-the-Water.