Seasonal Breaks on Exmoor

Weatherham Farm cottages, Buzzards and Toads Breech, are designed for all year round comfort. Since we are open all the year and Exmoor itself is a place for all seasons, why not try visiting Exmoor during a different season - for a week or just a short break?

With the increasing pressures of everyday business life and the hassle of commuting, it's becoming increasingly necessary to get away and switch-off, or chill out, more often -- to find somewhere where you can slow down and relax -- somewhere quiet, comfortable and in unspoilt scenery and countryside, more reminiscent of an area that has been bypassed by most of the rest of the country. Exmoor is such a place and Toads Breech and Buzzards offer the bolt holes. With our two cottages we aim to offer a package of escape for a short break, or longer, in any season.

Our guests don't have to worry about what they are coming to, ("will it be clean?"- "will it be comfortable?"), nor do they have to bring much with them, because we try to provide most things within our rental fee and because you can still eat out fairly cheaply around us and enjoy excellent quality seasonal food.

A wide choice of quality, and locally produced, ingredients is available close by. If you enjoy cooking and preparing your own dinners, we provide all the "equipment" for this and also the ambience to increase the enjoyment of your success.

Currently. (Early May): we are comming up to one of the most beautiful times of Exmoor, with a profusion of wild flowers and fresh new pastel green beech leaves.Tthe wild daffodils and primroses have been fantatic this year and primroses are now mixing with the rmerging carpets of bluebells Tthe air temperature has turned much warmer and we should be in for some really good weather.

It's coming upto barbecue time!

WINTER

Days can be wet, occasionally even snowy, but the countryside still invites walking and gentle exploration. Don't forget Exmoor spans from sea level to over 500 metres, (Dunkery Beacon quite close to us is 519 metres)! Even if it's cold on the open moors, it may be several degrees warmer along the coastal path. Also even if it is raining, and assuming you have boots and waterproofs, you may not even notice it if you are walking in the valley alongside a white river or stream rushing over boulders. So, maybe enjoy a morning walk -- possibly discover your own pub for lunch and then return to a warm cottage, maybe to do nothing -- put the log burner if you wish the extra easthetic enjoyment of the living fire above the central heating, (logs are included within your rental). "Exmoor is beautifull, even in the wet" -- partly because of its clear light through unplloted air, and, in the winter and early spring, partly because of the silhouttes of its beech trees against the skylines.

SPRING

Spring starts early near the coast and in the lower sheltered combes but late higher upon the moor. This means you can notice the seasonal progression as you drive about - the wild snowdrops and daffodils are hardly gone from higher areas before bluebells start appearing in the lower level woods. The leaves on the trees will have been fully out in the coastal areas before the dramatic flush of soft new beech leaves colours the valley bottoms and their steep hillsides higher up on the Moor in early May. Here primroses flower through April into early May.

Come in the spring and exchange the the noise of traffic for the bleating of lambs.

SUMMER

Because the Exmoor National Park is a little known part of the country, even though it's not far away from the home counties and Birmingham, it never becomes crowded. Certainly its famous locations and villages, such Tarr Steps, the Valley of the Rocks, Dunster, etc, will be busy, but it is easy to find your own quiet areas. With the possible exception of the coast road along the north of Exmoor, the roads and lanes are still very quiet and its hundreds of miles of footpaths and bridleways can never become crowded! Summer is a very beautiful time on Exmoor, especially latter on when flowering heather starts to colour the open moors - but it's not the only beautiful time!

AUTUMN

Although Exmoor does have large areas of open moorland, it also has a maze of hidden wooded valleys so autumn leaves are a vivid site. If the memory of an exotic summer holiday abroad is fading, why not plan an autumn short break with us? -- if you enjoy fishing, make it before the end of September and you may have a good chance of a salmon!, (the salmon seasons finishes at the end of this month, the trout season continues for another 3 - 4 weeks). You are probably aware of Exmoor's herds of wild red deer -- autumn is the time of the rut, so even when you don't see the deer you may hear them. It is also the time for pheasant and partridge on the menu.

When was the last time you had a break in an area remiscent of a bygone age - where you could really relax and have time for yourself and each other?

©Weatherham Farm 2007

Brompton Regis, Dulverton, Somerset, TA22 9LG, England. Tel. (0)1398 371303