Exmoor National Park
You’ll see them cantering across the open moor, but this is a great way to get up close to Exmoor’s stubby ponies. Originally bred as beasts of burden, they’re famously hardy despite their diminutive size. A prebooked one-hour taster session (£30) sees you grooming, tacking and riding a pony indoors.
There's also a half-day pony experience; it includes a two-hour moorland hack (for competent riders under 12 stone or 76kg only) and costs £45 per person.
23.77 MILES
Magnificent in warm, honey-coloured stone, Exeter's cathedral is one of Devon’s most impressive ecclesiastical sights. Dating largely from the 12th and…
18.37 MILES
The honey-grey Regency manor house of Arlington Court exudes charm, from the model ships and shells collected by the owners, to the produce-packed walled…
23.59 MILES
A fixture on the city's cultural scene since Victorian times, this hulking red-brick museum recently received a £24 million revamp. It's a treasure trove…
25.53 MILES
Run by the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Rosemoor is a must-see source of green-fingered inspiration. One of only four RHS gardens open…
20.53 MILES
It's a magical effect: 300 often quirky sculptures hidden away in a 4-hectare wooded valley. There's a fairy-tale or comic feel to much of it – slivers of…
10.84 MILES
Porlock Weir's stout granite quay curves around a shingly beach, which is backed by pubs, fisherfolks' storehouses and a scattering of seasonal shops. The…
10.18 MILES
Rosy-hued Dunster Castle crowns a densely wooded hill. Built by the Luttrell family, which once owned much of northern Exmoor, the oldest sections are…
15.75 MILES
This extraordinary piece of Victorian engineering sees two cars, linked by a steel cable, descend and ascend the steeply sloping cliff face according to…
1.63 MILES
Exmoor's most famous landmark is an ancient stone clapper bridge shaded by gnarled old trees. Its huge slabs are propped up on stone columns embedded in…
10.08 MILES
Most of the original cogs, wheels and grinding stones continue to rotate in this working 18th-century mill. There's a picturesque riverside tearoom…
10.12 MILES
The 50-sq-km Holnicote Estate sweeps southeast out of Porlock, taking in a string of impossibly pretty villages. Picturesque Bossington leads to charming…
10.18 MILES
Rosy-hued Dunster Castle crowns a densely wooded hill. Built by the Luttrell family, which once owned much of northern Exmoor, the oldest sections are…
10.21 MILES
Dunster’s beautiful church dates mostly from the 15th century and boasts an intricately carved fan-vaulted rood screen. Just behind the church is a 16th…
10.6 MILES
For full-blown Victorian architectural excess, Knightshayes Court delivers in spades. It was designed by the eccentric architect William Burges for the…
10.68 MILES
Catch the owl and bird-of-prey flying show (2pm), book your own hour-long private flying session (from £45), or have the kids hitch a half-hour ride on…
10.84 MILES
Porlock Weir's stout granite quay curves around a shingly beach, which is backed by pubs, fisherfolks' storehouses and a scattering of seasonal shops. The…