Exmoor’s Devon side is a walking coast and a scatter of quiet valleys, not a strip of beach resorts. Most of the choice is in the twin villages of Lynton and Lynmouth, with farm stays and cottages inland and a bigger seaside village at Combe Martin, just outside the national park to the west. The hills are the main thing to plan around: pick the village that matches your days, then check steps, parking and the dog rules before you compare dates.
Lynton: the clifftop base
Lynton has the widest choice on this coast: we list 29 stays, from cottages and apartments for two to a house for 20, and dogs are accepted at 23 of them. The village sits on a plateau high above the sea, and a 500-foot water-powered funicular, the Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway, drops to Lynmouth in under two minutes. Wheelchairs and pushchairs must be folded to board, and it cannot take mobility scooters or larger wheelchairs.
The Valley of Rocks is a walk of about a mile west, where feral goats roam among the tors, so keep dogs on a lead there. The Old Smithy is a former forge in the centre that sleeps five, with a mezzanine king-size bedroom and a wood burner. Parking is in a public car park nearby. Siskin Cottage sits on a quiet lane with Bristol Channel views, but its parking is on-street and subject to availability.
For a group, Lynhurst sleeps up to 20 across nine bedrooms, with a games room. Parking is in a public car park about 100m away.
Lynbridge and the river lodges
A mile or so inland along the West Lyn, the stays are quieter and sit beside water. Tree Tops is an 1850 cottage for four in the West Lyn valley, with an inglenook wood burner and a ten-minute walk into Lynton. Parking is for one car.
Hidden Haven is a lodge for three in a holiday park, with a private hot tub on a covered veranda by the river and two EV chargers on site. It has one parking space. Lynmouth is about a mile away, and the park has a shop and cafe.
Lynmouth: the harbour at the bottom
Lynmouth is the small harbour village where the East and West Lyn rivers meet the sea. We list 19 stays here, sleeping 2 to 8, and 15 accept dogs. None has a hot tub. The walk up to Watersmeet and its National Trust tea garden takes 30 to 40 minutes along the East Lyn.
Parking is the catch. The Bolt, a one-bedroom cottage for two, has unrestricted roadside parking from 1 November to Good Friday, and permits at other times. Rose Cottage at sea level sleeps six, with a riverside terrace, and the owners reimburse parking fees for up to two cars. Mariners sleeps eight over three floors and comes with two parking permits. Fox Cottage, dating from the 1700s, has steep stairs to the second-floor twin, takes no dogs, and uses a car park 90 metres away. Harbour View is reached by a flight of stairs and has no parking space of its own.
Parracombe and the Heddon Valley
Parracombe is a village about 4 miles from Lynton with 10 stays: a farmhouse, cottages and a four-room inn. The Fox and Goose serves food and has a fire in the bar, for anyone who would rather not cook.
Self-catering here can mean a long way in. Heddon Valley Farmhouse sleeps eight at the end of a half-mile forestry track, with a private indoor pool and hot tub reserved for your booking. Phone signal can be intermittent. In the village, Laurel Cottage sleeps seven with an enclosed garden, a shop and pub 0.25 miles away, and a garage for one small car. EE is the only network with coverage there.
Trentishoe, nearby, has seven stays, all accepting dogs. Lower Dean Farm sleeps eight in a farmhouse wing with a private hot tub and EV charging.
Challacombe and the moorland edge
Challacombe is a farming village with a pub and a shop, and six stays, all of which take dogs. The beach is around 8 miles away, so this is a base for walking from the door, not for a seaside week.
Exmoor Retreat sleeps eight with a hot tub in a private garden of about a third of an acre, three parking spaces and a 7kW EV point. Stable Cottage sleeps four on a 1,500-acre working farm, with a wood-burning hot tub, three external steps at the door and farm walks where red deer graze.
East of Lynton, Brendon is a village on the East Lyn with two stays. Brendon Barn sleeps two, with a pub about 800 metres away, one dog allowed, and steps up to the lounge.
Combe Martin: just outside the national park
Combe Martin, just outside the national park on its western edge, is the place for a beach on the doorstep, with 54 stays, 38 of them taking dogs, and lodges as the largest group. Combe Martin Beach is a sheltered shingle-and-sand cove with rock pools, but it has a summer dog ban, which matters when most stays welcome dogs.
Beach View sleeps eight with a hot tub, and the beach is 0.1 miles away, but the access road is steep and narrow. Bay View Bungalow is single-storey inside, though 22 steps lead up to the front door, and it has a fenced dog area in the garden. For wider sand and surf, read our North Devon guide.
Final checks before you book
Use each property page to narrow the choice, then confirm dates, price, access and any critical facility on the booking site it links to, which handles the booking and payment. Our links may earn a commission when you book.
On Exmoor, ask about hills and parking before anything else. In Lynmouth, find out whether the stay has a permit, a space or only a public car park, and how many steps lead to the door. Check the lane to remote farms and forestry stays, and ask about phone signal if you work or navigate on your phone. For a dog holiday, check the stay’s dog limit and fee, and plan for leads around the Valley of Rocks goats and the summer ban on Combe Martin Beach.
