lynton lynmouth hotel
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When you complete the Two Moors Way you can add your name to the many others in the books kept in the visitor centres in Lynmouth and Ivybridge. In 1976 the inauguration party clattered rapidly between the four dated granite waymarks by helicopter. If you are fortunate enough to see the sun setting over the steep North Devon coast as you approach Lynmouth your average speed may drop towards that of the snail, and you may choose to dawdle long after office hours to watch the lights come on in the village far below, rather than hurry down to bother with the trivia of adding your name to a book. Some people walk the Two Moors Way to add another tick to their list of achievements, others to enjoy a part of the world where humans still tread fairly lightly on the face of the Earth, and where, if you travel quietly and with your eyes and ears open, you will see and hear a wealth of wildlife: buzzards, curlew, woodpeckers, dippers, deer, hares and much, much more.
Many of the trees are labelled. Beneath the trees the ground cover is mostly moss, wood sorrel and ferns but there is also a good range of fungi.
As you come out into the clearing at Heathercombe there is a balsam poplar, which should refresh your nostrils if you have just had a dose of stinkhorn. The final gate into the hamlet was originally a slip-bar gate. One gatepost into which the bars were slotted is still present. Do not despise this rustic simplicity as the design has several advantages over conventional one-piece gates: easy to repair and if the lower bars are removed the gate becomes a sheep creep. You will see many examples of slip-bar gates in the next few miles.
Lower Hookner has several interesting farm buildings, including the barn with a hayloft. There is also the trough for an apple crusher inset into the yard. In the 1970s the hamlet was the base for a pony trekking operation. There was nothing unusual in that except that the visitors were all kitted out in western gear before they rode up onto Hamel Down.
Cloensbergh is mentioned in 974 and the Barton in the Domesday Book though the present house dates from 1820 and is lived in by the owner of the modern industrial-looking building along the lane. The building is not industrial but agricultural, a swede packer for the excellent swedes grown in these red Devon soils. Swedes from here end up in supermarkets throughout Britain and are even exported to Norway. In the past swedes from the redland of Devon commanded a premium, so less-favoured swedes, say from the neighbouring dunland, were sometimes given a quick bath in a tub of red mud! Rather a versatile vegetable, it turns up in jam and fruit yoghurt, as well as in expected places such as inside pasties.
Below the farm the (Two Moors) Way is upriver along the permissive path through the field. The woods here are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The main scientific interest is the lichens but most people will probably enjoy the variety of birds they can hear and which they might see. There are wood warblers among the trees, pied flycatchers in the canopy, redstarts on the fringes, and kingfishers, dippers and wagtails on the river.