Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: dulverton

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Autumn in Somerset

I've done some daft things in my time but I think driving all the way down to Somerset for a weekend stay was near the top of the list. I have wanted to visit the area in autumn for some time due to its many areas of deciduous woodland and I suppose the uncertainty of the past two years has given me the inclination to just go and do things, mainly because you just don't know what the future may hold.

I'd have loved for Sal to have come with me but she wasn't in a position to do so, consequently I just bit the bullet, booked three nights in the excellent Dunster Castle Hotel, packed my bag and set off!

I had an itinerary worked out, I wanted to go to Tarr Steps, Watersmeet near Lynmouth and go for a walk in Horner Woods near Porlock. In the end I only managed one out of three but the things I did do, more than compensated.

On the way down I stopped off in Watchet just to say hello to the place. Me and Sal have started staying there every year and we use it as a base to tour Somerset and parts of Devon. Its a friendly little town with some cracking pubs, a great little deli, is home to The West Somerset Railway and, if you are lucky, gives the best sunsets imaginable.

I then travelled a few more miles down the road to Dunster and settled in to my hotel before going down to Minehead for a walk along the seafront. Unbeknownst to me there was an event on at Butlins so all the holidaymakers were arriving which meant I was stuck in a traffic jam for ages which I found quite ironic as I had travelled half the length of the country and had no trouble at all with traffic until then.

On my first full day, I didn't get to Tarr Steps (see Tarr Steps), due to drizzle and basically miserable weather, but I compensated for that by going for a lovely walk in Whits Wood at Nutcombe Bottom, which was only a couple of miles from Dunster and then, in the late afternoon, went to Porlock Weir where I sat out in the drizzle and had a very enjoyable coffee.

On my other full day, I did go to Horner where I parked up and did a short walk but didn't venture far in to the woods as I wanted to go to Watersmeet, Lynmouth and Watchet. There are only so many hours in a day, especially at this late time of year, so something had to give.

The weather was kind to me all day, which meant that the autumn colours at Watermeet was just spectacular. It is the meeting place of Exmoor's East Lyn River and Hoar Oak Water and from there they flow through a steep wooded valley to The Bristol Channel at Lynmouth.

I then drove in to Lynmouth where I parked up and went in search of some food. The only place I found was an ice cream takeaway which was doing hot Cornish pasties. Not feeling very confident, I bought one and to my surprise it was absolutely lovely.

Still having an hour or so's light left in the day, I drove back to Watchet and visited the new East Quay Arts development which has proved very controversial with the locals. The construction is, to say the least, different and not traditional in any way shape or form but I really liked it and managed to have a coffee there just before it closed. I have added a few photos to the end of the blog you get an idea of what it is like.

And that is my weekend in a nutshell. I enjoyed myself, fit lots in but I missed Sal's company.The autumn colours certainly lived up, and even exceeded my expectations. I called in to Watchet the next morning, bought a sandwich and Scotch egg from Sam's Deli and hit the road back up North.

Nutcombe Botton

Whits Wood, Dunster

Autumn Leaves, Dunster

Hartcleave Plantation, Exmoor

Dulverton

Hartcleave Plantation, Exmoor

Horner Wood, Porlock

Horner Water

West Luccombe Farm

Packhorse Bridge, Horner

Horner Wood

Packhorse Bridge, Horner

Porlock Bay from Exmoor

Watersmeet

Horner's Neck Wood, Lynmouth

Watersmeet

East Quay

Watchet Sunset

Tarr Steps, Somerset

Before going to Tarr Steps, we called in Dulverton for a stroll around the town and hopefully have a coffee. We struck lucky and found a lovely little coffee shop called the Copper Kettle where we sat out in the secluded garden and had a cappuccino each. We killed two birds with one stone and bought a couple of takeaway sarnies to eat later in the day. It really was a welcoming little place, everyone just seems to be so happy at having people using their businesses once again.

Tarr Steps is a 55m (180ft) long clapper bridge across the River Barle just west of Liscombe village, in the southern region of Exmoor National Park. The bridge is built with 17 large stone slabs laid end to end and supported on stone pilings. The pilings, in turn, are buttressed by 'raking stones' to protect against the force of the water. The bridge ends in a causeway, or raised bank, and those daft enough, can use this part of the river as a ford. A Range Rover did drive through, but I wouldn't like to risk driving through in a normal car.

It was certainly in existence by early medieval times, and it seems likely that it has been built and rebuilt for thousands of years before then. The most extreme estimate is that the first bridge was erected around 1000 BC, making it approximately 3000 years old. The 'Tarr' part of the bridge name may come from the ancient Celtic word 'Tochar', meaning a causeway. If true, this would suggest that the bridge indeed has an ancient origin.

The Nature Reserve takes in 33 hectares of woodland surrounding the river and the bridge itself, and provides habitat for woodland creatures such as dormice and the rare barbastelle bat, also otters can be found along its river banks.

We had a nice walk along the banks of the River Barle but turned round when a fellow walker said that there was no bridge across to get on to the return path. Once we got back to Watchet, I got my map out, checked on the internet and there was in fact a bridge only another half mile up the river. Thanks for that one mate!

I thought the whole area was so beautiful, and the steps were so much more impressive than I had imagined from the photos I'd seen. To top the day off, we parked high up on the Exmoor hills to have our butties and the decision to buy them at the café had been a good one! They even threw in some crisps, also we caught our first sighting of some Exmoor Ponies.

The bridge at Dulverton

River Barle, Dulverton

Path to Tarr Steps

Tarr Steps Woodland Nature Reserve

Tarr Steps

Tarr Steps Woodland Nature Reserve

Summer Holiday - Bampton, Dulverton and Winsford

We had originally intended to go to Illfracombe and Woolacombe on our last day in Somerset but I thought that, after our days in Lynmouth and Minehead, we needed a quieted day. Sal agreed and so we went for a drive in to the Brendon Hills which gave us the chance to tick off the final two on her wish list.

Every day should start with a good coffee so I took her back to the cider farm I visited the day before. On the cake front, we were spoilt for choice but we plumped to share a slice of cider cake. I think that basically it was the Somerset name for a fruit cake but it it still tasted delicious.

After buying a selection of bottled ciders we continued on our way to a small town called Bampton which lies just over the border in Devon. It had a lovely 12th century church standing at its highest point which doubled up as a visitor centre. We watched a short video of the town's history and I think we were both a bit surprised on how important it had been to the surrounding area. It had a busy railway running through it which served the many quarries in the area. It also has quite a history from the Romans to its early Saxon origins, a Norman Castle and a thriving wool and pony trade.

We then crossed back over the border to Dulverton which has the oldest medieval bridge on Exmoor spanning the River Barle. It was another beautifully laid out Medieval town crammed with shops, cafes and hotels and quite busy. We escaped in to The Bridge Inn (which is surprisingly situated next to the ancient bridge) for refreshments and then went down to the river to sit and eat of lunchtime sandwiches.

The last place on Sal's wish list was another thatched village called Winsford and this may have been the prettiest of the holiday, setting aside Selworthy which was essentially a model village. The only downer with Winsford was that the local inn, The Royal Oak, was closed, which was a shame as it looked so beautiful from the outside.

Winsford was also the home to Labour statesman and politician Ernest Bevin who Sal got mixed up with Aneurin Bevan, the founder of the NHS. Sal being Sal meant that we had to go in search of a blue plaque but we couldn't spot one anywhere. However on the drive out of the village I spotted a plaque on a wall and screeched the car to a halt, narrowly missing a wall. It was only then that Sal realised her mistake but she was still thrilled at the outcome. It reminded me of the hilarious time she got Sir Robert Peel, the founder of the police force, mixed up with John Peel the famous fox hunter whilst we were Caldbeck.

Our journey back to base was uneventful in comparison and, even though this was our last day, we were both still in high spirits as we reflected back on a very enjoyable day.