Moor to Sea from an Exmoor Bus

Exmoor National Park has many special qualities and it is vital these are preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Although the Park Authority has a statutory duty to protect the natural beauty of Exmoor, visitors also need to play their part in the Park's conservation.

At busy times of the year, the volume of cars coming into the Park can cause congestion and can disrupt the tranquil atmosphere of Exmoor. Using public transport not only helps protect the environment, it also allows you to relax and see the countryside from a different perspective.This section helps you to plan a trip to or within the Park by train and bus. If you are planning a trip to the Park, please consider giving both yourself and your car a break!  If you can’t use public transport to get here then please fill your car up with friends and family before coming to Exmoor!!

Why Use the Bus?

Over 2 million people now visit Exmoor each year to enjoy its unique landscape and cultural heritage, and to savour the peace and tranquillity. However, almost every one of our visitors comes by car and the ever-increasing use of vehicular transport within the National Park can detract from the very qualities which attract people in the first place.

Every extra car journey contributes to the erosion of the special character of the Park by:

• Creating pressure for local roads to be widened and for natural areas to be turned into car parks.
• Encouraging parking on roadside verges which is both unsightly and damaging to the many species of plants which thrive there.
• Increasing congestion in and around the most popular sites and villages.
• Increasing traffic noise and pollution levels that may pose a threat to some habitats and species.

By using buses to get around, you can appreciate some of Exmoor’s finest landscapes without having to concentrate on the roads. Using buses can make your visit simpler as Exmoor’s more popular areas can be difficult to park in, and can be congested in the high season.  You can use buses to walk on linear routes by catching the bus and walking back, or vice-versa, and you can indulge in Exmoor’s real ales accompanying a traditional pub lunch!

You could holiday on Exmoor for a week and see some of the most breath taking views leaving your car behind.  Bus links are available from all the major local train stations such as Tiverton, Taunton and Barnstaple.  There is also the West Somerset Steam Railway which runs from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead, linking with bus services and providing opportunities for walking.

There are regular services from Minehead, Barnstaple, Taunton, Ilfracombe and Tiverton to the picturesque towns of Lynton and Lynmouth, Porlock, Dunster and Dulverton through wild and dramatic countryside. There are a variety of walks and viewing points which you don’t have to miss, as the bus service will stop anywhere along the route as long as it is safe to do so, and you can take your well behaved dog on most buses, usually for a small charge. There is a variety of circular walks to go on and some of these leaflets are available online. Alternatively, leaflets on walking the South West Coast Path and ENPA Golden Walks are available in the National Park Centres.  Please also take the time to read the Countryside Code and the walking guidelines on Exmoor: http://www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk/countryside_code/ for the Countryside Code. You will find the OS Explorer 1:25,000 map very useful when navigating your way around Exmoor.

Exmoor Visitor

There’s so much to Exmoor: a friendly welcome, tranquil moorland, winding rivers, a breath taking coastline of secluded bays and spectacular cliffs.  Exmoor is sprinkled with quaint villages, attractive towns and charming harbours.  Sit back, relax and have someone else do the driving.  Most of those who visit Exmoor do so because of its beautiful unspoilt countryside, it seems only sensible to try our best to keep it this way.

There are a variety of activities that are available from these towns, spectacular coastal walks in and around Porlock, Lynton and Lynmouth and around the Valley of Rocks. Woodland walks from Dulverton, heritage and archaeological walks from Dunster.

Other Attractions at Lynton and Lynmouth

• Watersmeet House, National Trust, is located on Watersmeet Road 1 ½ miles east of Lynmouth on the east side of the A39.
• Coastal Boat trips departing from Lynmouth harbour, weather and tide permitting in and around Lynmouth Bay.
• Brass rubbing Centre at Watersmeet
• Glen Lyn Gorge
• The Power of Water a Site of Special Scientific Interest, don't miss this spectacular gorge, through which poured the waters of the 1952 Lynmouth Flood Disaster.  The informative 'Power of Water' exhibition shows some of the water from the West Lyn River producing environmentally friendly hydro-electricity
• Lovely woodland walks by the waterfalls. Children can operate the giant water wheel.  Water cannons too!!