Barnstaple Town Centre :: Accommodation Guide

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East Hollowcombe, Hawkridge Tel: 01398 341622 Click here

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Over 70 years ago, the novelist Henry Williamson sat down to write 'Tarka the Otter', a story tracing an otter's journey through the clear waters and lush valleys of the Land of Two Rivers - the rivers being the Taw and Torridge. To this day, little about the area has changed and its magic remains as powerful as ever.

Exmoor National Park is a very special place. In a area of 250 square miles it combines stunning wild moorland with an awe inspiring coastline that is populated with red deer, rare wild ponies and soaring birds of prey. It is also easy to forget that it is a living landscape where more than 11,000 people live and work.

Most of the land is, in fact, privately owned including about 10% by the National Trust. The Exmoor National Park Authority provides that link between the community, visitors and landowners promoting opportunties for all to enjoy the Park's natural beauty. There are over 700 miles of footpaths and bridleways that provide an endless range of possibilities for ramblers. This includes the South West Coast Path which takes you through the longest stretch of naturally wooded coastline in Britain, or the famous Two Moors Way that joins Exmoor to Dartmoor. There are many opportunities for horse riding on the moor, whether you are a novice or experienced, with facilities for hacking, jumping and trekking.

Exmoor is the home of many forms of wildlife including, perhaps most famously, England's greatest concentration of wild red deer. Even rarer are the unique Exmoor ponies that were first recorded in the Domesday Book and now number less 800 in the world. No one can fail to be impressed by the bird life, from the large Buzzard to the Merlin, the smallest falcon on the moor. If you want to take all this in, then one of the best ways is by joining the official National Park guided walks or taking an Exmoor Safari.

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Click on Tourism for information on the area, Attractions for what to do and where to go, Food and Drink on what to eat when you get there, Leisure... well relax and think about that one and the Town Centre to shop till you drop!