Exmoor

"Can't wait to go again. It was such fun for us and the horses."- Sarah Drew

Tucked away in a relatively isolated corner of the West Country is Exmoor's National Park which offers a unique landscape. This landscape, although breathtakingly dramatic in many ways, is generally softer and rounder than other moorland areas such as Dartmoor and Bodmin. Exmoor is a patchwork of different landscapes, encompassing wild uplands, thickly wooded combes, ancient farms, sheltered villages and a stretch of coastline with dizzying hog's-back cliffs that are unsurpassed.

It is a fascinating combination of wide open moors, tracks through ancient oak and beech woods, and secret valleys with chocolate box villages. It is challenging with high frequent climbs and descents so we recommend horses and riders should be fit to enjoy this part of the country. You can expect demanding terrain with stony ground, fords and moorland. You will undoubtedly be rewarded with stunning scenery and herds of wild Exmoor ponies.

The bulk of our network is in the eastern half of the Exmoor National Park between Exford, Porlock and Dunster. Although you cross stretches of open moor, most of the time you follow fairly well marked tracks - and the soils are sandier in this area, with fewer moorland bogs. It also includes Dunkery Beacon, which at over 1700 feet is the highest point on Exmoor with views right across the Severn estuary on a clear day.

In the west there are place to place rides between Exford and Challacombe. Our route follows The Chains ridge to the west of Simonsbath, which is very bleak and very beautiful, but better suited to more intrepid riders with top-notch map reading skills. We have a range of 2 to 6 day rides, either place to place or forming a one centre holiday.

It is certainly possible to mountain bike with riders but we recommend you are experienced and fit to undertake our routes.

Excursions:

• Clovelly
• Cleeve Abbey
• West Somerset Railway

Click here to see photos.....

A 14 mile petal ride which starts with a ride through Horner Wood, an ancient oak wood, and takes you to the highest church on Exmoor at Stoke Pero. From here, you have the option of following the shorter recommended route that follows an old track called Dicky’s Path around the Northern edge of Dunkery Hill to Webber’s Post.

This route should be chosen if visibility is poor. Alternatively, you can follow the Macmillan Way West up to the summit of to Dunkery Beacon, which at 1,705 feet is the highest point in Exmoor. This route continues to Higher Brockwell before returning past Luccombe back to your accommodation.

Call us on +44 (0)1225 424413 or email contact@redlandsequestrian.com to check the ride availability and dates, once we have confirmed availability you can download and fill in a booking form:

• UK Rides Booking Form
• Worldwide Rides Booking Form

Each rider in the party must also complete a riding ability questionnaire before we can complete the final confirmation of your holiday booking.