Through time to the top of the Moors

For the first time in 4 weeks we got to sleep in - in peace. Porlock is a quiet country town in a quiet part of the country and to be able lounge in bed until 9 am with no street noise invading our privacy through the windows was a total pleasure. After a leisurely start we strolled up to the local pet food shop (which also sells everything else – postcards as well) we waited for Richard to turn up. And he did. Thus the peace was shattered.
Richard was born in these parts, spent 23 years terrorising the world on behalf of the British government (armed forces) and then retired. Being bored he’s decided to spend the rest of his life terrorising the locals, their wildlife and any tourist that happens to get in his way. We were fortunate enough to see all of this in the space of 2 ½ hours by being victims (sorry – “passengers”) of his Exmoor Safari tour. As Polly is a local, we got special treatment. This meant many laughs, squeals, screams and soakings.
He has a specially capable 4WD which can go anywhere and he knows where to go and how to get his vehicle there with maximum effect. Whilst showing us the sights from the sea to the top of the moors, his unstoppable commentary was delightful whilst being educational. To the extent we could throw snippets of local history back to our hosts afterwards of which they were previously unaware of (heh heh).
We basically followed the old coach routes through the forests, up steep hills, through really tight, narrow, overgrown tracks, which were muddy, slippery and a heap of fun in a 4WD with someone who knows how to drive one.
We had the joy of scaring the absolute beegeebees out of some walkers who were caught in the middle of a track with steep sides and nowhere to go as we roared towards them. They clung to the sides of the grass covered banks like geckos to a wall as we shot by with a “thanks old chap – do have a nice day”. Once we got to the top we saw native Red Deer, native ponies, long haired sheep, rabbits and a plethora of wide eyed tourists as we terrorised them with our oversized vehicle.
Richard had a ball driving through virtual swimming pools of water (it has rained a lot recently) splashing water all over the place and managing to get a significant amount of it inside the cabin and thus over the occupants as well. He had wound his window up of course – so he stayed dry.
We covered local history from the Druids to the Roman conquests times to the 2nd world war. It’s all happened around here. After disembarking and slowly adjusting our ears back to the normal serene quiet of the area we got ready for the evening’s festivities.
A fabulous BBQ for which the weather held off (it appears the forecasts here are as bad as back home 10 years ago) we had delightful time sitting in Polly & Pauls back patio watching the afternoon sun slowly change the colour of the nearby hills. We took an hour out from our snakebites and wandered down to the water’s edge. This involved narrow hedgerows and through gates and paths running along the edges of field of bright green grass being kept at length by sheep. The shingle (stones) beach is not one in which you’d swim in, it is however very picturesque (as is everywhere around here). They have significant tides here (6 meters plus) so this has an impact on every waterside aspect. This means the shingles are stacked up very high (no sand at all). Watching the sun disappear over the waters of the channel and the distant Atlantic Ocean was very serene and a great way to end the day.