Exmoor Pony and friend
She Said:
A sunny and bright start! No rain forecast (and, no rain fell). A great day of walking.
Our immediate start was at a car park halfway up the moor. The climb was challenging (for me) but the payoff all along the way was worth it.
I had another very up close and personal encounter with a friendly Exmoor pony. She was not afraid as I walked by her (3') and she stayed close while I talked to her. I walked on a bit and stopped to make a note, and she followed me. I know that the ponies see humans, and so are not spooked, but they do usually move aside or away as people approach. This sweetheart stayed close by and even let me pet her. She was cautious, but not afraid. Given that the Exmoor ponies are actually wild, this was a real treat for me.
And, once again I am struck by the vastness of the National Trust's Holnicote Estate. Though, I guess I shouldn't be - Exmoor is comparable to one of our National Parks, and Holnicote is a just one estate in Exmoor.
Like our National Parks, the wildness has been preserved and protected. Still, remarkable. Imagine standing on the top of San Bruno Mountain, or Mount Tam, and looking in every direction, and only seeing an occasional farm and/or village. No freeways, no airports, no cities. Just natural beauty, as far as the eye can see.
That has been our experience these past days in Exmoor.
There were many black slugs out on the path for their morning crawl. Probably hoping to run (ha!) into the opposite sex as spring is the time for that.
Climbing higher, and the Exmoor ponies were with us all the way.
A mom did her best to shield (hide?) her foal from us as she moved away, keeping completely between us and her foal. She was successful and impressive as her baby seemed brand new.
We heard a coo-coo call again in a nearby Combe (valley). For those who don't know...
Coo-coo's lay their eggs in another bird's nest while that bird is out eating (or, whatever) and the coo-coo's eggs get incubated and raised by the other bird. Crazy! Or, coo-coo!
We made it up to Dunkery Beacon, the top of the Exmoor world. Windy and wonderful. 360 degree views of fabulousness. Moorland all around, and far, green fields down low. And, across the Bristol Channel - Wales. Fantastic. I love the moors.
Coming down off the moor, but still quite high, we saw a large herd of red deer. Big bonus!
As we descended, we watched a flock of sheep, in a far green field, being herded by dogs. The farmer was at the top of the field on his ATV, giving his commands to the two dogs. The sheep herd, from our distance, was like bacteria in a Petri dish - the dogs would herd them into a corner of the field, they would stay tight for 5 minutes, then start migrating out into the field again. A command from the farmer, and the dogs ran them back tight into the corner. It was a beautiful sight.
The farmer came to the bottom of the field and seemed to be giving aid to someone or something. My imagination says that it was a very injured sheep (maybe rabid? maybe a lamb mangled from a fox?). In any case, the whole event looked natural and well in hand.
A bit further down, we came to the "most isolated and highest church in Exmoor" - 13th c., in Stoke Pero. It is mentioned in the Domes Day Book (old, old, old).
Tiny, but full of character (as 13th c. anything is). We had a good look at the bell-ringers ropes - they are heavily felted on the bottom 3'. This is to allow the rope to easily, and painlessly slide back up through the bell-ringers' hands and be comfortable for the ringer to pull down on again. Many of the country churches that we've come across have small leaflets advertising for bell ringers - it is, apparently, quite a custom and an honor to learn the proper way to ring.
Then, just next to the church, we passed through Dr. Doolittle's farm. (Not really, but it sure felt like it).
First, there was the farm cat (kitten) that purred her way into my heart. Wouldn't leave me. Loved me. We had planned to eat our lunch in the shade of the church vestibule, but kitty was too insistent - pet me, pet me.
So, we headed out of church (after shooing kitty out) and kept walking.
At Church Farm, next door to the church and where kitty was from, we were greeted by a full grown sheep who was a dog, for all intents and purposes. This sheep came right up to us, wanted to be near us, wanted to be petted. I obliged. And, of course, it followed us as we walked. Oh, and in the very close paddock, a beautiful gray mare and her new foal. With the sheep by my side, we walked through the farmyard proper and talked to the resident chickens and (very territorial) rooster. Next up - Guinea foul came marching by. And in the next field, sheep, cows and horses. Wow. Farm sensory overload! (But, think how wonderful that was!)
We had a very long, very steep descent through Horner Wood (if knees could scream, you would have heard ours) back to the Horner Tea Garden of 2 days ago.
But before the tea garden, one last amazing experience - 3 Exmoor pony moms with their 3 perfect babies. And, a couple of Aunties nearby.
We sat in the Tea Garden while I enjoyed a cuppa.
Dorrien picked us up at the Horner car park and had another treat for us. He knew a farmer close by who lets the red deer stags spring-over in a small wooded copse in his fields, until their antlers are properly velveted and they are not vulnerable. He drove us there on our way back to the Luttrell Arms, and what a sight. Big, big stags, three of them. R got some great pictures.
We love our drivers.
Another great day.
Total Miles:
8.65 (Weber's Post, Dunkery Beacon, Stoke Pero, Horner Wood, Horner)
Total Flights Climbed:
43
He said:
A brilliant, sunny and clear day greeted us this morning, and we were glad to see the sun after the clouds and rain of the last few days. Our walk today started at Webber's Post and from there we climbed through the moorland up to the highest point in the west of England, Dunkery Beacon. At the top, it's about 1700 ft above sea level, so not that high for California standards, but treeline here is just over 1000 ft, so, the moors feel cool and windy on a good day. We saw Exmoor Ponies along the way, and also two herds of Red Deer. We did not see the dreaded ticks that we had been warned about, it doesn't seem like a good place for ticks up in the moor. We greeted several sets of walking couples, all happy to be out in the nature of the day.
Stoke Pero Parish Church
Horner Tea Room
The stags near Horner
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