Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: watersmeet

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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

Lynmouth, The Valley of Rocks and Watersmeet

I love Lynmouth and Lynton, if it wasn't so busy I think I could spend a holiday there. Lynmouth straddles the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers, in a gorge 700 feet below Lynton, which was the only place to expand to once Lynmouth became as built-up as possible.

On the 15th and 16th of August 1952, a storm of tropical intensity broke over south-west England, depositing 9.0 inches of rain within 24 hours on the already saturated soil of Exmoor. It is thought that a cold front scooped up a thunderstorm, causing debris-laden floodwaters to cascade down the northern escarpment of the moor, converging upon the village of Lynmouth; in particular, in the upper West Lyn valley, fallen trees and other debris formed a dam, which in due course gave way, sending a huge wave of water and debris down the river.

Overnight, more than 100 buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged along with 28 of the 31 bridges, and 38 cars were washed out to sea. In total, 34 people died, with a further 420 made homeless. The seawall and Rhenish Tower survived the main flood, but were seriously undermined. The tower collapsed into the river the next day, causing another temporary flood. Similar floods had been recorded at Lynmouth in 1607 and 1796. After the 1952 disaster, Lynmouth was rebuilt, including diverting the river around the village.

Opposite Lynmouth Harbour is the Flood Memorial Hall. The permanent free exhibition inside includes a scale model of the village pre-flood, along with images of the buildings which were destroyed and how to identify their sites. There are many personal accounts, photos, as well as material on the recent theory that it may have been the result of cloud-seeding experiments by the military.

Today, whilst still pretty and retaining its charm, Lynmouth is a typical resort with many cafés, restaurants and gift shops. The two villages are connected by a funicular cliff railway opened in 1890 which is the highest and the steepest, totally water powered railway in the world and one of only three in England.

We had a nice walk around the village, but again, not a lot was open due to the pandemic. We did manage to find a pub which was serving coffees, so we sat in the beer garden overlooking the harbour and had a cappuccino each. However the village was still fairly busy, so we didn't hang around too long and instead, went off in search of the romantically sounding Valley Of Rocks situated above Lynton. What a fabulously impressive place it turned out to be.

The Valley Of Rocks is thought to have been formed during the Ice Age when the ice sheet prevented the East Lyn River from reaching the sea on its normal route and was diverted westwards. When the ice sheet retreated, the river was able to resume its original path, leaving this valley riverless. Over the years, the valley has silted up to become the U-shape it is now. The right-hand side of the valley is separated from the sea by a series of rocky cliffs, along which The South West Coast Path runs.

Dodging the showers, we managed to have a quick look around and take some ace photographs of the cliffs but, as time was pressing, we didn't really do the place justice. Hopefully the next time we go, we will stay longer and have a proper walk and explore.

Our last port of call for the day was Watersmeet which was a couple of miles out of Lynmouth and which lies at the bottom of a steep wooded valley where the East Lyn River and Farley Waters meet in a series of waterfalls and cascades. It is one of those places where, whatever superlative you use to describe it, falls well short of the mark. It is without doubt the most beautiful woodland area I have ever visited, and every step we took was a pure joy. We walked up in to Barton Wood which is all native woodland and then back down to Watersmeet House where we sat outside and had a coffee. Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing one evergreen tree in the entire area. I should imagine it is spectacular when all the autumn colours are on show.

Reluctantly, we toiled our way out of the valley and back to the car and then drove back over Exmoor. The road we returned on came out only a stone's throw from Torre Cider farm, but sadly it was closed for the day, so it was back to Watchet.

A long but incredible day. We had seen the best of all worlds: coastal, woodland and moorland scenery.