Exmoor Day 5 - Culbone Wood & England's smallest church

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I arose, on my last day in Exmoor, to a dank, drizzly morning, so a sunrise was out of the question. After packing up the tent in the rain, always a delightful job, I drove to Porlock Weir so I could begin a spot of rambling along the South West Coast Path.

By the time I arrived it was starting to brighten up a bit, with the morning sunshine appearing through the ever thinning clouds. I parked up, and strapping on my camera bag, I took the little track to the coastal path. I was only walking a tiny fraction of it, the entire length of the path is 630 miles, the longest in England, and stretches from Minehead, around the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, all the way to Pool in Dorset. And because it rises and falls with every river mouth, the total height climbed, if you were to complete the route, has been estimated at 114,931 feet, almost four times the height of Everest. I wasn’t about to do that.

Exmoor Day 4 – A golden valley & over familiar insects

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Up for sunrise again this morning, this time I was heading to the Exe Valley, located just the other side of Simonsbath. The valley itself is not the most interesting of valleys, it doesn’t have the precipitous slopes or trees and shrubbery of the Barle Valley, nor is the River Exe that imposing, it’s just a small trickle occasionally spied among the valley floor grasses. The one thing it does have going for it though is the sunrise, which ascends beyond the basin and lights up the landscape below, at least that was the hope.

Exmoor Day 2 – Mischievous rain and a sat nav mutiny

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After a very disturbed night, thanks to the seemingly endless rain tap tap tapping on my taut tent topping, I wasn’t up that early, not that there was much to be up for, the rain was still continuing its cascade of damp misery. So after a leisurely breakfast, by which time the clouds had taken on a more cheery countenance and the sun was finally awake, I took a drive over the moors to the coast, and Porlock Common.

Porlock Common is a fetching piece of land that comprises meadows of heather and a patchwork of trim, hedge lined fields upon rolling landscape, all situated right on the coast. It encompasses all of what makes Exmoor such an appealing place, in a way that very few spots in the National Park manage to do. And it was looking very fine in the morning light.

Exmoor Day 1 – The tent offensive and a valley storm

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Last week I spent a few days in one of my favourite places, Exmoor National Park. I was camping near Exford so I was hoping the weather would stay clement for the duration, as I don’t find tenting and rain an agreeable combination.

So, I arrived at the campsite accompanied by a howling wind and intermittent blustery downpours, perfect conditions to set up a large, flapping piece of canvas. As I wrestled with my accommodation, doing my best to deal with its angry flailings, like an overwrought parent who’s run out of Ritalin, the sun did finally, if bashfully and fleetingly, show its face, so I had reason to hope things might improve.

Exmoor Day 1 - Battle with the clouds

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I was down in Exmoor for a couple of days, which is always a good thing, as it's such a beautiful spot. I was somewhat limited in what I could get up to though as I had recently broken a toe, so my mobility was somewhat impaired, no walks through the Barle Valley on this visit. If I could drive to it, then I would go to it, otherwise it was out of bounds.

I was up for sunrise first thing that morning, at the slightly impudent hour of 5.30, and I took a drive through Simonsbath and out onto the moorland in the hope that there would be some spectacular colour in the sky. There wasn't.

Exmoor Day 4 - Morning mist on the Moors

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Up nice and early in the hope that I might get a sunrise, but once there was enough illumination to see my surroundings, it was clear that this was not going to happen. The landscape was shrouded in a thick soup of grey fog, under a chunky stew of sombre cloud, topped off with a beefy brew of gloomy light.

All this poor weather was making me hungry, but instead of filling my bemoaning belly, I decided to head up onto the moors to see if there were any atmospheric shots in the offing, while the fog was still so dense.

Stopping in one of the little car parks that dot the moors, I got out and with no particular direction in mind, I took a stroll amongst the dew covered heather and ferns hoping something would catch my eye.

The colours were vibrant thanks to the overcast conditions.

Exmoor Day 3 - Highland cattle & cream teas all round

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We rose to another hearty breakfast that set us up for the day before driving to Winsford, with its beautiful old thatched pub, and which according to them, is one of the most photographed inns in England. I don’t doubt it at all, but unfortunately the weather, yet again, wasn’t with us, so we contented ourselves by looking at it through the rain splattered windscreen.

After that it was onto Dulverton where we bumped into a flock/pack/herd? of ducklings all huddled up against the miserable morning air, and Sarah met up with a local photographer with a view to possibly setting up some more workshops, both here in the UK and overseas. Meanwhile I had taken myself up onto the moors of Winsford Hill to see what I could see, and thankfully it was quite a lot. The sun had decided to get his hat on and it was warming up a treat.

Exmoor Day 2 - Getting wet & annoying the ponies

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After a hearty breakfast and a game of one man and his dog with the hound at the farmhouse, in which I was think I was cast as the sheep and there was no man, we (Sarah and I, not me and the dog) revved up the car, turned on the wipers and headed across the moor towards Dulverton, under a leaden and generously leaking sky.

We took a drive to Simonsbath House Hotel to have a look around, and very nice it was too, we also had a chat with the owner and learnt about the varied and lengthy history of this 17th century building, some of which can still be seen in the wood panelling throughout.

Next up was Rockford, which is a tiny village deep in the heart of the National Park set along the banks of the East Lyn river, and is a great place to walk to Watersmeet from, which is where we headed to next, not by foot I hasten to add, we had too much to do. Stopping down by the river at Watersmeet we availed ourselves of a coffee and a piece of cake, as the sun splashed itself liberally about their beautiful tea garden.

As we were around that area we headed over to Lynton, which, with Lynmouth, is one of the most popular places on the Devon coastline, we wanted to see if the tide was in and get a few photos. As it happened it wasn’t, but the sea was looking an iridescent turquoise even though it was quite far out. We did get some photos, not many mind, as soon after setting up it began to spit with rain and within 5 minutes a downpour that could only be described a torrential was upon us, whilst the once turquoise ocean had disappeared in a haze of indistinct fog. 

I did get a few images looking out to sea as the mist and cloud began to roll in. There is something about a dramatic sky/sea image that I like a great deal. But before long my lens was getting wetter faster than I could dry it so I had to give it a rest. 

Exmoor Day 1 - Packhorse bridges & National Trust villages

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After setting off on a long weekend away in Exmoor, with a view to photographing some of the varied landscapes contained within its 267 square miles, our first stop was a motorway service station just outside Bristol, so we could take care of that most basic of human needs; coffee. 

So after refueling, we had a quick sprint along the M5 before taking the turn off to Bridgewater, where we fully immersed ourselves in that archetypal English summer pastime, being stuck for miles and miles behind a caravan. But soon we were on the fringes of Dunster, and our first photo of the trip presented itself via the impressive façade of Dunster Castle as it emerges from the surrounding canopy of trees. 

There has been a settlement on this site since the 11th century, originally a motte and bailey construction, which gave way to a timber castle after the Norman conquest of England, it was not until the 19th century that it was converted into the sumptuous manor house that stands there today. So with the sun sparkling upon its fortifications we set up our tripods and took a few pictures. The sun was fairly bright by now as it was around midday so a polariser helped cut through some of the glare, as well as making the sky a richer blue. The foreground was barely of interest, being just a field of grass so I decided to use the 70-200 lens to get tighter to the castle and crop out anything that wasn’t essential to the picture.