A Birthday Picnic In Exmoor National Park

Birthday Picnic Exmoor - Melody and Monet enjoying the view over Exmoor

I will try to be more specific about the location, but would it mean anything and so much of Exmoor is just open moorland with no specific name.

We travelled the 8 miles or so in our MG, a 2003 TF, roof down sun shining and the throaty sound of the exhaust breaking the silence as we made our way up the toll road from Porlock.  I must do a video of the toll road, going up or down the views are lovely.  Not the quickest road, unless you compete in the annual special stage rally up the hill, but not for me in my nearly classic MG.

Driving the road from Porlock to Lynmouth is so special, the views from the hill overlooking the Bristol Channel and across to Wales are lovely, on this evening the sun was shining on the Welsh coast but also there were low clouds forming because of the high pressure.  A photo would have been good, but in truth some things just don’t work, and it is better to appreciate the scene than miss the moment.

We arrived, turning into the road leading to Foreland Point Lighthouse and parking on the grass overlooking the channel.  The area is currently one of my favourite and I have taken and am planning more photos from this location.

Visited by an Exmoor pony during my Birthday Picnic Exmoor -
Visited by an Exmoor pony during my Birthday Picnic Exmoor –

Greeted by the sound of seven Greyhounds, what a noise, our own Cockapoo, Monet, ignored them taking on an almost superior air as he raced around, pleased to be in the open.  Melody meanwhile looked nervously, expecting that any second seven Greyhounds would cover the 100 metres in record time to catch Monet, she is very protective and rightly so, Monet is a cheerful little dog, a bundle of fluff and not cut out for high speed pursuits.  But all was well, the dogs remained tethered and eventually left leaving us to walk and enjoy the peace and quiet and a solitary stallion that would have been worth a photo.  I tend to plan photos, which means I missed the spontaneous chance to photograph this lovely animal with a foreground of long bleached grasses and dark menacing sky behind, oh well, Melody reached for her iPhone and I look on horrified that it isn’t fitted with at least a 300mm lens and other essential camera adjustments.   As I sit here writing this Melody tells me she thinks the stallion may have been pregnant, I think she understands, but that is the thing with Melody she is always saying things to make me laugh.

Enjoying my Birthday Picnic Exmoor and being spoilt by Melody
Enjoying my Birthday Picnic Exmoor and being spoilt by Melody

Our evening meal was great, only forgot half of it this time, a few occasional flies visiting and being a nuisance, I think I upset them as just as we were finishing our meal millions, if not more, flying ants descended.  The car was covered, Melody and I were covered and that really brought our evening to an end, packing quickly we jumped in the car pursued across the moor by flying ants.  No match for an MG we return to Porlock having enjoyed another special evening in the best restaurant in the world.