Exmoor

The Devon side of Exmoor National Park is a walking coast and quiet moorland valleys rather than a run of beach resorts. Lynton sits on a plateau high above the sea, joined by a water-powered cliff railway to Lynmouth, the harbour village where the East and West Lyn rivers meet the sea. The Valley of Rocks, about a mile west of Lynton, has walking routes and feral goats, and Watersmeet is a National Trust valley up the East Lyn with a tea garden. Inland, Parracombe, Challacombe and Brendon have farmhouses, cottages and barns. Plan around hills and parking: in Lynmouth several stays rely on permits or a public car park rather than a space of their own.