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Countryside
Visitors are enchanted by what they find here. It's a seductive landscape without any hard or harsh edges. Moorland rolls across Exmoor from east to west like a vast, gently swelling sea, dyed a deep purple when the heather is in bloom.
Much of the Exmoor area is designated as a National Park and has been protected for over 50 years. Huge stretches are owned by the National Trust or protected as Nature Reserves or Heritage Coast, so there is a four-fold guarantee that these landscapes and seascapes are of a truly exceptional quality.
The hills don't finish at the edge of Exmoor. To the east lie the Quantock Hills, the first part of England to be declared an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with wonderful woodlands and vast views.
At 1,704 feet (519 metres) Dunkery Beacon is Exmoor's highest point. A walk to the top is rewarded with so much exhilarating space and soaraway scenery that you'll feel on top of the world.
The beautiful countryside is dotted with pretty villages and robust, stone-built towns, which maintain a traditional country atmosphere, untouched by the rush and crush of the modern world.
Dulverton is an hospitable little riverside town that wears its heritage proudly. This "secret place" of the Saxons still maintains a strong identity of its own with its highly individual mix of shops where you can buy everything from art and antiques to country clothing, fishing tackle and local produce - including Exmoor lamb and beef at the local butcher.
Lying in a valley to the north of Dulverton, Winsford is one of Exmoor's most attractive villages, with eight bridges and a ford crossing its many streams. You can still see the cottage where Ernest Bevin, the Labour Foreign Secretary, was born in 1881. Close by, Winsford Hill is an excellent place for spotting Exmoor ponies.
Discover the lost medieval landscape of Doone Country, the evocative setting that inspired RD Blackmore's romantic novel, Lorna Doone. Go to the picture perfect places like Bossington, Selworthy and Allerford, with their gables, thatched roofs, lime-washed walls, tall chimneys and bulging bread ovens.
The central area of Exmoor around Simonsbath is known as Exmoor Forest, once the property of the Crown and a Royal Forest used for hunting and grazing. Simonsbath provides a perfect base to explore this area on foot, with many walking routes emanating from here.
Exmoor National Park
In Exmoor National Park you will find heather covered hills, narrow wooded valleys and fast running rivers which are excellent for fishing. The moor takes its name from the river Exe, which rises there. Where Exmoor meets the sea are the highest cliffs in England, huge caves that can only be reached by boat, hidden inlets and pebbly beaches. It is uncrowded, with many secret places to discover and explore. It is an ideal place for a country holiday, especially for those who enjoy riding and walking.
Exmoor was chosen as a National Park because of its size and scenery and also because it was one of the few relatively wild areas in the south of England that people from London, the Midlands and South Wales could visit easily.
Most of Exmoor is privately owned with Exmoor National Park Authority owning only 7% of the land. Exmoor is sparsely populated. About half of its population of nearly 11,000 live in small towns and villages, the rest in hamlets and on isolated farms. Lynton, Porlock and Dulverton are the largest settlements.
Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Stretching from the Vale of Taunton to the Bristol Channel, the Quantock Hills offer a great diversity of landscapes. The imposing sandstone ridge rises out of the surrounding agricultural land and is famous for its views.
The Quantock Hills were designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1956, the first such designation in England. The area covers 99 sq kilometres and is rich in flora and fauna.
