6 guides
Dunkery Beacon: When Exmoor's Highest Point Rose Just Clear of the Plateau
At 519 metres, Dunkery Beacon is the summit of Exmoor and the highest ground in Somerset. It doesn't tower dramatically above its surroundings—the moorland plateau keeps it company—but the views stretch wide because of it.
Culbone Church: When England's Smallest Parish Church Sits in a Forest Without a Road
The building measures thirty-five feet by twelve, seats about thirty people, and requires a mile-long footpath approach through oak woodland. It's been there since the twelfth century and car access has never been an option.
The Doone Valley Problem: When a Novel Creates Geography That Doesn't Quite Exist
R.D. Blackmore set his 1869 novel in a specific Exmoor valley, visitors have been searching for Doone homesteads ever since, and the locations don't quite match the descriptions. The legend outlasted the accuracy.
The Exmoor Beast: Big Cat Sightings & the 1980s Hunt
Large black cat sightings on Exmoor sparked police and Royal Marines searches in the 1980s. Nothing conclusive was found, but reports continue.
Simonsbath: When a Knight Built a Village on Empty Moorland and Called It Reclamation
John Knight bought the Royal Forest in 1818, planted beech hedges at altitude, built farms where nothing had grazed, and created a settlement that still feels like an experiment. The hedges are still there, mostly.
The Lynmouth Flood of 1952: When Two Rivers Destroyed a Village in One Night
On 15 August 1952, exceptional rainfall sent two rivers crashing through a Victorian resort, killing thirty-four people and obliterating buildings, roads, and bridges. The damage was catastrophic, the rebuilding total, and Exmoor's valleys proved how fast they drain when the rain won't stop.