Exploring Exmoor’s Coast
A trip along England’s sumptuous Somerset and Devon coastline
“I can see Wales from here!” I point across the Bristol Channel towards the faint outline of the Welsh coast, 15 miles away.
My nephew picks up a pebble from Watchet beach, flicks his wrist, and skims it into the sea.
“Yes, Uncle Simon,” he sighs. “And I can see dolphins.” He grins.
We’re here to explore the Exmoor coastline for a few days, and we’ve just nipped to Watchet to do some evening stone skimming, before the sun sets.
The Exmoor National Park straddles the Devon/Somerset border, covering 267 square miles of beautiful, wild moorland. Designated as a national park in 1954, it takes its name from the River Exe.
The national park’s coastline stretches for 37 miles, from Somerset’s Minehead in the east, to the outskirts of Devon’s Coombe Martin in the west.
The best way to reach Exmoor’s coast is to head inland, to Bishops Lydeard, where we pick up a steam train on the West Somerset Railway. At 20 miles long, it’s the longest heritage railway in England.
