Het Exmoor kustpad is 77 km lang en loopt tussen de stad Minehead in Somerset en de Devon-dorpen Mortehoe en Woolacombe. Het Exmoor Coast Path is onderdeel van het lange afstandspad South West Coast Path dat met een lengte van circa 1014 km het langste nationale pad van Groot-Brittannië is. Het strekt zich uit van Minehead in Somerset tot Poole Harbour in Dorset, en omvat de gehele kust van Devon en Cornwall. The South-west Coast Path. At around 630 miles/1014km in length the South-west Peninsula Coast Path (or simply South-west Coast Path/SWCP) is Britain’s longest national trail. It extends from Minehead in Somerset to Poole Harbour in Dorset, and includes the entire coast of Devon and Cornwall. This tour includes 48 miles/77km of the coast path between the Somerset town of Minehead and the Devon villages of Mortehoe and Woolacombe. Exmoor national park. Starting from Minehead, the first 35 miles/56km section of the South-west Coast Path follows the northern edge of the Exmoor National Park. Here the high ground of the park’s interior slopes abruptly and precipitously down to the Bristol Channel. Poet S.T.Coleridge was staying on a farm overlooking this densely wooded and shaded coastline and had started his celebrated work Kublai Khan when he was interrupted by the arrival of ‘a person from Porlock’. Was the poet’s evocative image ‘down to a sunless sea’ inspired by the dramatic landscape of the steep, north-facing Exmoor coastline? Further inland the rolling moorland plateau, large parts of which are uncultivated and almost uninhabited, is cut by steep-sided and densely wooded valleys drained by clear, fast-flowing salmon streams such as the East Lyn River and the Hoar Oak Water. In R.D. Blackmore’s romantic novel Lorna Doone the long and beautiful valley of the Badgworthy Water upstream from the much-visited but unspoilt hamlet of Malmsmead becomes the sinister Doone Valley, while the long-abandoned site of a mediaeval village overlooking the valley serves as a base for Lorna’s brother, the ruthless outlaw Carver Doone. Moorland and valleys are criss-crossed by numerous public footpaths and bridleways, including the long-distance Two Moors Way trail. Based for three nights at the little town of Lynton, supported by local taxi service to take you to the starting points of the walks and provided with our detailed and specially researched route notes and carefully annotated maps, you can choose from enough walks of a wide range of difficulty to easily fill two whole days of enjoyable exploration of this wonderful landscape. Accommodation on this route may be booked up well in advance at Bank Holiday weekends (Easter, late May/early June) and during the summer holiday period (late July and August). So better book early for those periods. Programme Day 1 Arrival at Minehead Day 2 (Minehead to Porlock): 13km/4.5 hrs; Day 3 (Porlock to Lynton): 21km/6.5hrs; it is possible to shorten the day by using a local bus service – we provide bus timetables and mark the bus stops on the maps. Days 4 and 5: a selection of moorland and riverbank walks based in Lynton, ranging from 7km/2hrs up to 19km/6 hrs. Transport (included in tour price) is provided to the starting points of the walks. Day 6 (Lynton to Combe Martin): 22km/7hrs; it is possible to shorten the walk by booking a local taxi for part of the way. Day 7 (Combe Martin to Ilfracombe/Mortehoe/Woolacombe) 8km/2.5hrs; we recommend continuing along the coast path from Ilfracombe to the twin villages of Mortehoe and Woolacombe (an additional 12km/3.5hrs) and either returning by bus to Ilfracombe or spending the final night at Mortehoe (an historic village on a hill) or at Woolacombe (a long sandy beach popular with surfers). If you prefer Mortehoe (an ancient village on a hill) or Woolacombe (a surfing centre) rather than Ilfracombe for your final night please let us know in the special requirements box of the booking form. Day 8 Departure