The Coast and Moor

Weather a bit murky today. Well it's not so much raining with drizzle and grey skies as there is low cloud coming off the sea. Driving up over Exmoor reminded me of driving through Scotland in the autumn - though a little warmer.

Headed to Lynton and Lynmouth, two small towns linked by a Victorian Cliff Railway. Lynton sits on the top of the cliff, with Lynmouth the old small harbour town below.

I'm sure in their time they were once bustling little towns, after all a cliff railway was built to link the two, but now they sit on the remote Exmoor coast and are kept ticking over by the tourist trade. A short stroll along the coastal path is rewarded by the stunning Valley of the Rocks. Local claims that this part of North Devon is a 'little Switzerland' may be little optimistic - but it is beautiful and very like the north of Scotland.

Make my way back - via the coast, the moors and the cloud - to Barnstaple and then the evening is spent in a fantastic local pub in a small village on the edge of Exmoor. To say it's off the beaten track is to over state its transport links. It accepts only cash and cheques - a note on the door says 'we don't serve plastic food so we don't accept plastic money' - and it doesn't have a till, merely a drawer.

A great place with good food and great beer - I can't remember the last time I was asked 'do you want straight glass or a handle?' - and it is exactly as a local village pub should be!