Exmoor
About Exmoor National Park
Exmoor National Park stretches from West Somerset to North
Devon. It is the smallest national park in the country and is
famous for
its deep secret and peaceful wooded combes, and the high
stretches of
heatherclad moorland amidst the steep fields of the hill farms. The extent of Exmoor National Park is quite small compared
for example to Dartmoor, or the Yorkshire Moors. It is a more
gentle landscape than these, less exposed to the weather and
it has less scree and rocks on the slopes.
Exmoor remains unspoiled. You won’t find garish holiday towns
here or horrible advertising or neon signs. It is quite populated
on the fringes, but there are still some places where you can look
all around 360 degrees, and not see a single house or building.
Come to see the wildlife, especially the wild ponies and the red
deer. The heather is out now and the honey scent is intoxicating.
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Once the technique is mastered,
you can nordic walk most places even through high bracken |
The Wild Red Deer
The deer are really wild, although they will eat in the fields.
red deer calves in grass
The red deer are most easily seen in the dusk of evening, when
the weather is calm, and when they venture out from the woods
to graze. You won’t be able to walk right up and photograph them.
It is not as easy as on a safari where the lions may walk right up
to the jeeps. The deer have a healthy respect for the danger
potential of men on two legs and dogs on four legs. These are not bored farm animals. To get close, you must leave your dog at home,
and creep up very stealthily, down wind, and be prepared for a long
wait.
If you are interested in learning about the stags, when they drop
their horns, the rut, when the deer calves are born, and about
the ways the deer are managed, join Angela on her guided nordic
walks.
You need to look up, behind you, above you, constantly, to catch
sight of the deer.
Sometimes they see you first..
The Wild Exmoor Ponies ^top
There are only about 140 Exmoor ponies living free on the moor.
This is our native breed. They have evolved over the centuries to
survive during the wet and cold Exmoor winters.
If you join us on a guided nordic walk – Angela will tell you about
the different herds, how they are managed, and how the ponies are
adapted to the moor.
The Exmoor Beast
Make up your own mind on this one. Everyone you meet on
Exmoor will have an opinion about it. If you have not heard about
the Exmoor Beast, join Angela for one of her guided nordic walks
and have your camera ready in case we are lucky enough to have a
sighting. I have seen an Exmoor Beast in the Doone Valley this
summer.
^top
Nordic walking on Exmoor
Nordic walking poles are a real boon for walkers on Exmoor.
The poles are such a help up the hills. You can develop a
springy rhythm as you walk, and your lengthened stride will eat up the
miles. Please refer to each activity page, and the
general description below on this page, to see where there is
organised nordic walking on Exmoor. However you do not need
to join other nordic walkers in order to use the technique, you
can use it wherever and whenever you would normally go out
walking..
Visitors from continental Europe
Visitors from continental Europe may find nordic walking on Exmoor
rather different to what they are used to at home.
Nordic walking is still very new to this country, and we don’t yet
have nordic walking trails, let alone nordic walking fitness parks.
This means that nordic walkers have to share the footpaths,
bridleways and other tracks with the other users of the moor:
horseriders,
mountain bikers, 4 wheel drive enthusiasts.
The paths can be rutted, boggy, narrow with bracken or heather
pushing at your poles, or slippery and rocky. You will not find
beautifully smooth and manicured woodland trails specially devoted
for walking, but you can nordic walk almost everywhere although you
may have to work slightly harder than if you were on a smooth path.
It is great fun and very satisfying to power up the hills (especially if
you can overtake other ordinary walkers).
The Exmoor countryside is managed by the landowners - its farmers
and the National Park Authority, but this is the real and natural
countryside, it is quite different to a groomed urban park. Revel in
the unspoiled wildness.
Learning to Nordic Walk on Exmoor^top
For your first introduction to nordic walking, we will choose
somewhere where the paths are relatively smooth and the grass
is relatively short. This will help you when you are learning to
control the poles. Once you have mastered the basics of the
nordic walking technique, you will be able to cope with rougher
ground and to go the places that any walker would choose to go.
The location we choose for an introductory session may vary
depending on the time of year, the weather and the ground
conditions, please scroll down this page for further details of special
Exmoor locations (or for the cost and details of tuition, please go to
the Activities page and click on the introductory page):^top
Winsford Hill near Dulverton – Haddon Hill – Wimbleball Lake
–Tarr Steps
In spring, summer and early autumn we go nordic walking on
Winsford Hill, around the top of the Punchbowl, and above the Halse
Farm camping site. This area has lovely short grass on the tracks,
which helps beginner nordic walkers, and has great views to Dunkery
Beacon.
During the winter and whenever it rains hard, we are going up
alongside the river Barle, either from the historic Tarr Steps clapper
bridge, or from Marsh Bridge just outside Dulverton. The woods give
shelter from the weather and the paths here are quite good even
in the wettest conditions.
Haddon Hill above Wimbleball Lake is another choice and offers
spectacular views on a lovely day. I will be going there on those
fresh sparkling mornings after a hard frost. It's also a great area
for dog walking with lots of interesting scents for any dog and a
sociable meeting place for dogs and owners. ^top
One of the Exmoor National Park Authority pony herds, on
Haddon
Hill, above Wimbleball Reservoir
^top
During scorching hot weather, we go nordic walking along the Barle
Valley above Dulverton, in the cool of the woods, and around the
slopes above Lanacre Bridge and Brady Moor.
Dunster Park and North Hill are popular choices for nordic learners
from Minehead and the Luxborough area.
I am very grateful to the National Trust management team at Dunster Castle, who have given me permission to take small parties of nordic walkers through the parkland around Dunster Castle. The Park at
Dunster Castle is open to non-National Trust members, but please
consider joining the National Trust if you are not a member already.
If you join us for a nordic walk there, please visit the main
entrance to Dunster Castle beforehand or afterwards, to
register your membership card and to show your appreciation
of the Trust’s hospitality. They get extra funding for each
membership card produced. Please say you are a nordic walker. ^top
Guided Nordic Walks over Exmoor
This is an opportunity to exercise, and to look for wildlife at the
same time. When crossing Exmoor, it is best to constantly look
around, as if you were in a woodland garden, that is – look behind
you, above you, to the side, as well as a long way ahead. By
doing this, you are more likely to see that herd of hinds looking down
on you as you walk beneath them along the valley path, and you are
more likely to see where the buzzard landed and to see him take off
again.
Nordic walking on Winsford Hill above Tarr Steps and looking
at the bluebells on Varle Hill
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