Like driving? Visit Exmoor :)
Discussion
I was in Exmoor over the weekend staying in a B&B with a couple of friends after we attended a cycling event on Dartmoor on Saturday. Then plan was head to the B&B, stay overnight then head back to Kent on the Sunday. However, having never been to Exmoor and hearing it had some great roads as well as scenery, I got up at 5AM on the Sunday and thought I'd head out and do a bit of exploring. I took my camera - I'm by no means a good photographer, but I thought it might be worth attempting to get some nice shots of the car in nice scenery.
We were staying in Dulverton, a sleepy little town at the south edge of the moor. My plan was simple....head back to the A396 and follow it north to Minehead. Pick up the A39 and head along the coast, then find a route that would loop me back to Dulverton in time for breakfast.
Just a mile outside of town and I already had a smile on my face. It's great driving country. The roads are well maintained and pretty wide in most places. A quick stop as I crossed the Exe...
....then up onto the A396. And what a road that is. It follows the Exe valley north and is utterly fantastic. It snakes through some gorgeous scenery. Lots of variety, too...flowing curves giving way to tighter technical sections, opening up to fast straights.
As the road climbs, it opens to reveal a hint of some of the stunning views Exmoor has to offer.
At Minehead, the road joins the A39. Hanging a left, I took a cruise through a sleeping Minehead, then the road begins to climb back onto the moors. The road is still nice and wide, but a bit more hemmed in with hedgerows. A few miles west of Minehead I passed through Porlock and climbed Porlock hill...apparently the steepest A-road in the UK. I had to drop back into first gear on some of the hairpins (omg no torques, etc).
After the climb out of Porlock, you find yourself up on top of the moors and the only word to describe it is breathtaking. Suddenly you can see for miles across moorland valleys. Ahead, the A39 is perhaps the most inviting ribbon of tarmac I've ever seen; smooth, flowing corners, wide and no hedgerows to disrupt visibility. A real place to stretch your legs
I stopped at a couple of viewing points along the way to take some shots as the sun began to rise.
Not my tyre marks...
Visibility is excellent up here.
At Countisbury, the roads drops steeply - suddenly the roads drops down to the sea again, another 25% incline in some places.
I followed the A39 a little further to Lynmouth. Here I took turned off and joined the B3223. For a couple of miles it twisted it's way along a gorge, with steep cliffs rising on the right hand side, and dry stone walls on the left. No room for error on these tight sections, so it was a sedate bumble just taking in the scenery. Then, at Hillsford, the road turns and heads back in a south easterly direction and heads straight across the moor.
This turned out to be perhaps the best road I've ever driven. A couple of close hairpins then the road is wide, straight and has unparalleled visibility as you head over the moors. For the next twenty miles I was grinning like a loon. The road was fantastic. Again, wide and smooth. Fast sections interspersed with beautiful corners. These are exactly the sorts of roads that I watch Chris Harris filming on in Wales, grinding my teeth in jealousy. Having so much fun that I didn't bother to stop and take photographs. I should add, that at this point, I'd seen only 2 other cars on the road (in Minehead) - the sun was coming up, the scenery was beautiful, and it felt like I had the whole of Exmoor to myself. Absolutely stunning.
Pretty soon I was back on a twisty section as the road dropped back down into the valleys toward Dulverton.
Then suddenly, I was back in Dulverton itself. Just before I returned to the B&B there was time to head up to a wood yard we'd passed on the day before for a couple of attempts at more arty shots of the car
Then finally, back into the B&B for a full English breakfast
Summary? I've not been driving long admittedly, but it was by far the best drive I've ever had. The roads are great. No potholes, wide and you can usually see a long way ahead. They flow through some beautiful landscape so can be enjoyed even on a sedate cruise. Best of all, at that time on a Sunday morning, was the lack of traffic. I was out for 2 hours and saw about 4 cars in total; and they were all heading the other way so I wasn't held up. I currently live in Kent, a county whose roads are dominated by hedgerows and traffic - Exmoor was driving heaven in comparison.
The car was brilliant - the GT86 really excels on these sorts of flowing A- and B- roads. But I reckon you could enjoy the Exmoor roads in any car; indeed, my friend was in a borrowed company diesel Mondeo estate for the weekend (he was down for work) and even he seemed to have fun when we headed home later. Not driving fast, just enjoying the flow of the roads.
So, if you enjoy driving and live within reasonable distance of Exmoor, I'd thoroughly recommend heading down there for a jaunt in the early hours. I only wish I didn't live at the other side of the country, so I could enjoy it more often.
Route:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.0394317,-3.55...
We were staying in Dulverton, a sleepy little town at the south edge of the moor. My plan was simple....head back to the A396 and follow it north to Minehead. Pick up the A39 and head along the coast, then find a route that would loop me back to Dulverton in time for breakfast.
Just a mile outside of town and I already had a smile on my face. It's great driving country. The roads are well maintained and pretty wide in most places. A quick stop as I crossed the Exe...
....then up onto the A396. And what a road that is. It follows the Exe valley north and is utterly fantastic. It snakes through some gorgeous scenery. Lots of variety, too...flowing curves giving way to tighter technical sections, opening up to fast straights.
As the road climbs, it opens to reveal a hint of some of the stunning views Exmoor has to offer.
At Minehead, the road joins the A39. Hanging a left, I took a cruise through a sleeping Minehead, then the road begins to climb back onto the moors. The road is still nice and wide, but a bit more hemmed in with hedgerows. A few miles west of Minehead I passed through Porlock and climbed Porlock hill...apparently the steepest A-road in the UK. I had to drop back into first gear on some of the hairpins (omg no torques, etc).
After the climb out of Porlock, you find yourself up on top of the moors and the only word to describe it is breathtaking. Suddenly you can see for miles across moorland valleys. Ahead, the A39 is perhaps the most inviting ribbon of tarmac I've ever seen; smooth, flowing corners, wide and no hedgerows to disrupt visibility. A real place to stretch your legs
I stopped at a couple of viewing points along the way to take some shots as the sun began to rise.Not my tyre marks...
Visibility is excellent up here.
At Countisbury, the roads drops steeply - suddenly the roads drops down to the sea again, another 25% incline in some places.
I followed the A39 a little further to Lynmouth. Here I took turned off and joined the B3223. For a couple of miles it twisted it's way along a gorge, with steep cliffs rising on the right hand side, and dry stone walls on the left. No room for error on these tight sections, so it was a sedate bumble just taking in the scenery. Then, at Hillsford, the road turns and heads back in a south easterly direction and heads straight across the moor.
This turned out to be perhaps the best road I've ever driven. A couple of close hairpins then the road is wide, straight and has unparalleled visibility as you head over the moors. For the next twenty miles I was grinning like a loon. The road was fantastic. Again, wide and smooth. Fast sections interspersed with beautiful corners. These are exactly the sorts of roads that I watch Chris Harris filming on in Wales, grinding my teeth in jealousy. Having so much fun that I didn't bother to stop and take photographs. I should add, that at this point, I'd seen only 2 other cars on the road (in Minehead) - the sun was coming up, the scenery was beautiful, and it felt like I had the whole of Exmoor to myself. Absolutely stunning.
Pretty soon I was back on a twisty section as the road dropped back down into the valleys toward Dulverton.
Then suddenly, I was back in Dulverton itself. Just before I returned to the B&B there was time to head up to a wood yard we'd passed on the day before for a couple of attempts at more arty shots of the car
Then finally, back into the B&B for a full English breakfast
Summary? I've not been driving long admittedly, but it was by far the best drive I've ever had. The roads are great. No potholes, wide and you can usually see a long way ahead. They flow through some beautiful landscape so can be enjoyed even on a sedate cruise. Best of all, at that time on a Sunday morning, was the lack of traffic. I was out for 2 hours and saw about 4 cars in total; and they were all heading the other way so I wasn't held up. I currently live in Kent, a county whose roads are dominated by hedgerows and traffic - Exmoor was driving heaven in comparison.
The car was brilliant - the GT86 really excels on these sorts of flowing A- and B- roads. But I reckon you could enjoy the Exmoor roads in any car; indeed, my friend was in a borrowed company diesel Mondeo estate for the weekend (he was down for work) and even he seemed to have fun when we headed home later. Not driving fast, just enjoying the flow of the roads.
So, if you enjoy driving and live within reasonable distance of Exmoor, I'd thoroughly recommend heading down there for a jaunt in the early hours. I only wish I didn't live at the other side of the country, so I could enjoy it more often.
Route:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.0394317,-3.55...
Edited by Conscript on Wednesday 7th May 21:10
Thanks all...and sorry Johnny!
egor110 said:
At dulverton if you went on the b3227 bampton-shillingford-waterow-wiveliscombe. this would then take you back to wellington/taunton to pick up the motorway.
On the way home we just went the fast route, back down toward Tiverton then onto the M5. Just looked at that route on Google though, would of been a good shout - especially as at Taunton we left the M5 to cut across to the A303 anyway. Your route would of been more direct and fun MadRob6 said:
I live on the edge of Exmoor but every time the sun is out and I go for a drive I just end up in a sea of caravans and monospeeders.
Can be lovely and quiet on a nice clear night although then you have to try and dodge the sheep.
Indeed, I did figure that I must have got lucky; even though I set out at 5AM and it was a Sunday, it was also a bank holiday weekend, so I wouldn't of been surprised to get held up by at least one caravannist.Can be lovely and quiet on a nice clear night although then you have to try and dodge the sheep.
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