Paddlesteamers, Postcards and Holidays Past

When the Napoleonic Wars put an end to the Grand Tour of Europe, taken by the wealthy sons and daughters of Britain's ruling classes to broaden their horizons, they needed to look closer to home for their inspirational holidays. It couldn't have happened at a better time for Exmoor. The "Paddlesteamers, Postcards and Holidays Past" teaching resources explore the history of that tourist boom.

The project is designed for students in Key stages 2 and 3, with suggested tasks that cover the full curricular range. As well as plenty of background information, there are itineraries for class visits to seven key sites in the history of Exmoor's tourism. Four of them are based around Lynton and Lynmouth and could be included in a single day's whistle-stop excursion, with the other three being representative of historical tourist destinations away from the twin villages. Each location has information and tasks for students to work through with their teacher, before and after the visit as well as during the tour. These documents complement one another and should all be used in the classwork, even if it is not possible to visit each site. There are also teacher's notes to accompany these documents, giving further information and including suggested extension tasks and links to other relevant web-based resources.

How to use these resources 

We recommend that you first of all take time to explore the Background Reading . The material in this document is not included in the site visits (or is only included in abbreviated form), and it sets the scene for the development of tourism on Exmoor, and provides the reasons for its early success.

Site Visits

There are seven site visits that we have prepared to allow you to Explore these topics. The visits to the seven key locations in the history of Exmoor tourism are divided into two categories: four core visits, based around Lynton and Lynmouth, and three additional locations. If only one day is available for site visits, it would be possible (though not ideal) to cover the four core sites in the one trip. The additional three visits include Minehead, which is outside the Exmoor National Park boundaries but very much a key location in terms of the history of its tourism, and an interesting location as a contrast to the other visits. The further two locations – the Doone Valley and Heddon's Mouth – are both very popular with visitors for their dramatic scenery, and they are used here for navigation practice, allowing students to find their own way through the landscape, using the map to identify key features of interest as well as keep track of their route.

Lynton Site Visit

Lynmouth Site Visit

Valley of Rocks Site Visit

Watersmeet Site Visit

Minehead Site Visit

Doone Valley Site Visit

Heddons Mouth Site Visit

Curriculum Links

We have prepared the following documents to show how these resources support your teaching and learning.

Overview -  Lynton Area

Overview  -  other sites

Schemes of Work - English

Schemes of Work -  other subjects

Subjects covered.

Additional Resources (downloadable zip files)

Lorna Doone

Poems Journals and Hardy

Postcard Collections

Early Tourism in the Press

Lynton and Barnstaple Railway 1935 timetable