Six things you might not know about Exmoor

1. It’s not exactly where you may think it is

Most of the National Park (two thirds of it in fact) is in Somerset - although many people seem to think of it as being in neighbouring county Devon, home to the remaining third.



2. It has prehistoric animals

(No, not the Exmoor Beast! Or perhaps, who knows?) Exmoor ponies are one of our oldest breeds of animal, and their ancestry can be traced way back http://www.exmoorponysociety.org.uk/history_of_the_exmoor_pony_.html  



3. It’s a great place to see the stars

Exmoor is Europe’s first Dark Sky Reserve, making it a wonderful place for astronomers and anybody interested in stargazing: http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/environment/landscape/dark-skies/stargazing



4. It contains many natural wonders: animal, vegetable and mineral

Several thousand red deer live here – the largest concentration in Britain – as well as a huge variety of other wildlife http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/environment/wildlife-and-ponies

Ancient woods at Horner have rare species of lichen

http://exmoorencyclopedia.org.uk/contents-list/41-h/549-horner-woods-exmoor.html

Exmoor has the highest coastline in the country, and the highest sea cliff (at Great Hangman).



5. It has record-breaking and unique trees

Woodlands on Exmoor contain some species unique to the area (such as varieties of whitebeam).

The longest stretch of coastal woodland in the country can be found between The Foreland and Porlock.

Nutcombe Bottom, near Dunster, has England’s tallest tree (a Douglas fir) and also England’s tallest magnolia http://www.dunsterestate.co.uk/dunster_wood.html 



6. It is absolutely beautiful!

Incredibly varied, too. But don't just take my word for it... pay a visit and see for yourself.



This post was inspired by a survey conducted on behalf of Exmoor National Park, about what people who have not visited the area think of Exmoor. You can find the survey results at

http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/244472/ENPA-Non-Visitor-Survey-report-2012.pdf