Local Area & Attractions

The rugged and wild Exmoor coast, with its breathtaking scenery provides ample opportunity to go walking, cycling, horse riding and fishing. There are many gardens and heritage sites in North Devon as well as local attractions such as the world famous Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway.

Lynton & Lynmouth

The twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth are alive with the Victorian and Edwardian splendour for which they are renowned. The most celebrated reminder of that by-gone era is the world famous L&L Cliff Railway.

Many of the towns’ grand hotels, houses and even quaint cottages are all built with the same Devonian stone, whose red hues and grey shades contribute to the warmth that make this place a welcome harbour for those who have been wandering the expansive wilderness of Exmoor.

There is an abundance of shops, boutiques and tearooms, as well as many restaurants and pubs whose doors are always open even in the depths of winter. There is a local picture-house, which shows the latest films, and a museum where visitors can find out about the towns' history and the 1952 flood disaster. Lynton and Lynmouth also play host to many festivals throughout the summer and autumn.

Website Links:
MAPLE - www.lyntonandlynmouth.info

Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway

The world famous funicular railway is a short walk from Chough's Nest and provides a smooth ride down to the sea front. Powered solely by water from the river Lyn, this marvellous feat of Victorian engineering once provided a vital link between Lynton and Lynmouth.

Website Links:
Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway

Valley of Rocks and Hollerday Hill

A short distance from Chough's Nest Hotel, the North Walk cliff path leads you into the unusual landscape of the Valley of Rocks with its wild goats, Exmoor ponies and prehistoric rock formations.

The shattered structures of 'Devil's Cheesewring', 'Rugged Jack' and 'Castle Rock' are thought to have inspired the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge to write his epic poem 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' as he once walked through this broken landscape on his travels of the West Country.

At the top of nearby Hollerday hill, you can explore the ruins of Sir George Newnes' mansion and the remains of an Iron-Age fort, as well as experience the spectacular views, 800 ft (244 m) above the sea.

Watersmeet & Glen Lyn Gorge

Watersmeet is just two miles from Lynmouth, along the East Lyn River. Surrounded by acres of stunning woodland trails and riverside walks, visitors are rewarded with a cream tea in one of the National Trust's most long established tea-gardens.

The Glen Lyn Gorge not only offers visitors woodland walks along the banks of the West Lyn river but is also an environmentally-freindly visitors' attraction. Here, you can create your own electricity as well as view the impressive hydro-electric turbines which help to power Lynton and Lynmouth.

Website Links:
National Trust - Watersmeet
The Glen Lyn Gorge

The Bristol Channel

On some days this busy waterway is a raging torrent on others it is as smooth and as placid as the lakes in Cumbria. In fact, the main reason our guest’s stay at Chough’s Nest is to share a part of this magnificent landscape with its spectacular views of the South Wales coast.

The panoramic views stretch from the island of Barry in the West to the industrious Swansea and Port Talbot, with its smouldering steel works in the East. Straight opposite is the Nash Point Lighthouse, which lights up the sea between the sleeping towns of Porthcawl and Llantwit Major.

The Bristol Channel, on both the South Wales and West Country sides, has more miles of Heritage Coast than any other stretch of water in the United Kingdom. Heritage coastlines in North Devon include Exmoor, Bideford Bay, the Hartland Point peninsula and Lundy Island.

The western stretch of Exmoor boasts the Hangman cliffs, the highest cliffs in mainland Britain, culminating near Combe Martin in the gigantic 'Great Hangman', a 1043 ft (318 m) 'hog-backed' hill with a cliff-face of 820 ft (250 m); its sister cliff 'The Little Hangman' has a cliff-face of 716 ft (218 m).

Woody Bay & Heddon Valley

Travel west of Lynton, past the Valley of rocks and you will stumble across the beautiful Woody Bay. Although now a relatively remote and unspoilt corner of Devon, in the late 1800s, there were efforts made to develop the area into a holiday resort to rival Lynton & Lynmouth.

Nearby Woody Bay Station was once part of the narrow-gauge Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, which closed in 1935. Thanks to the help of a small group of volunteer enthusiasts this delightful station was fully restored and re-opened to passengers in 2003 as the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Company.

Continuing along the coastal path you will come to the Heddon Valley. Part of the National Trust, the steep wooded river valley boasts scenic walks down to Heddon's Mouth marked with a restored Victorian lime kiln.

Website Links:
National Trust - Woody Bay & Heddon Valley
Lynton & Barnstaple Railway