Staycation on the Moors

STAYCATION ON THE MOORS

Dartmoor versus Exmoor and a taste of Cornwall

I was supposed to be off to Puglia .... but with quarantine in place, and then EasyJet cancelling most of their flights…it was a  non starter.

To make up for my disappointment, I joined my walking friends once more. They wanted to climb to the 'Tors' on Dartmoor, I insisted on Exmoor for comparison. The weather looked reasonable for the weekend and so off we went.

Dartmoor first: we parked near the Meldon Reservoir and off we climbed - there are no specific tracks, the terrain is bare and bleak, windswept and confused discussions went on which one is 'Yes Tor' and 'Black-o- Tor' etc but we did a few and the views were incredible.

Exmoor has the ‘Dunkery Beacon' which I believe is similar but we hit thick fog, so we decided on the Tarr Steps walking to Withypool along the river and back over the hills - it was truly beautiful and some nice pubs open along the way.   The sun kept shining so the sea beckoned for an evening swim.

The second part of the week we stayed near Newquay, the weather forecast wasn't good but I was pleasantly surprised again: the coastal paths were mainly sunny, one could see the black clouds inland. The towns were very busy, parking is a nightmare but once out in the open and walking it was truly stunning. One beautiful sandy beach after another interspersed with fabulous rock formations and ever-changing sea colours.  The buses were NEVER on time - fairly understandable considering the narrow lanes at times - but they worked well to get us back to the car after a long trek.

All in all, another lovely experience of a staycation holiday - it might entice me for another one ... although I don't want to tempt fate weatherwise!