Exmoor Through the Seasons

Exmoor is a place to enjoy in all seasons. The peace, tranquillity and space it offers for quiet relaxation hardly change throughout the year. Although Exmoor is never crowded, its most famous places, such as Tarr Steps, Dunster, Valley of the Rocks, Watersmeet, etc will have fewer people outside the main holiday periods, perhaps encouraging you to linger longer and explore them more peacefully.

Different seasons give different views and lights so this land of light and mystery does vary throughout the year.

Spring
In early spring, colours change again, firstly carpets of white from Exmoor's snowdrops, (Snowdrop Valley, near Wheddon Cross is a sight not to missed). In later spring a profusion of primroses and many other wild flowers give colours to complement the soft green of new beech leaves.

Summer
Even if you have visited Exmoor in summer time you will discover new dimensions in other seasons. If you have never visited Exmoor, you don't have to wait till summer to discover its secrets - it is still England, but it really is another world.

Autumn
Autumn colours on its moors and in its combes are often vivid and autumn walks are particularly invigorating. In autumn and winter a lunchtime drink in one of its pubs, by the log fire seems even more relaxing.

Winter
In the winter months, when the leaves have fallen, the landscape takes on different shapes through the bare silhouettes of its characteristic beech trees against its many skylines. "Exmoor is beautiful, even in the rain!" - a frequently used phrase which is true because of its light and its shapes. If it is raining and you are walking beside a rushing river or stream in one of its secret valleys, you probably won't even notice it (assuming you are wearing suitable clothing!). Imagine such a walk on a crisp frosty morning with the light gleaming from thousands of frozen drops on all the branches and the smell of wood smoke from a nearby hamlet or solitary cottage. Enjoy it in your mind and plan when you'll come and discover it in real life.