The Exmoor Centre

New blog

2012-09-11T16:02:00.001+01:00

Hello blog fans. We have updated most of the Exmoor Centre website and changed software so we now have a blog on the main site at exmoorcentre.co.uk so I won't be updating this blog from now on.

You can follow us on Twitter and get updates whenever we add a blog post - @exmoorcentre

Exmoor Dark Skies

2012-07-24T15:23:00.000+01:00

We have waffled on about how amazing the stargazing can be at The Exmoor Centre before. Last night was a prime opportunity for us to go out and experience it ourselves.

Experience Exmoor

2012-07-19T14:18:00.002+01:00

This morning Neil from Experience Exmoor and I have been skiving.

A bit of sunshine was all the excuse we needed for a trip out to The Exmoor Centre. We are putting some ideas together to hold some wild evenings out in the coming months, details are sketchy as yet but you can bet on the chance of some magnificent stargazing, the chance for some moonlit wild swimming and some wholesome campfire food.

Experience Exmoor are a new company that 'do exactly what it says on the tin', they are bringing some great new opportunities to Experience all that Exmoor has to bring. Have a look at their website here: http://www.experienceexmoor.co.uk/

We've had a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours wandering the grounds of the The Exmoor Centre and beyond. Here are a few pictures from today.

6 red deer stags just outside the centres grounds

View from the hillock, could be Africa on a day like this

Heather is just coming into bloom, Exmoor will be a sea of purple in a couple of weeks

The Experience Exmoor Land Rover Defender at The Exmoor Centre

Mountain Bike Routes

2012-07-12T15:45:00.000+01:00

We have just been added to the excellent 1SW Adventure Cycle Map, an excellent resource for Mountain-bikers wanting to explore the South-West.

Have a look here - http://map.1sw.org.uk/#!/business/1036

Sometimes you just have to go for it...Thomas didn't and paid the price!

Visiting hoaroakcottage.org, one of our favourite rides from The Exmoor Centre.

The Exmoor Centre management Team and some of the Trustees are keen cyclists with years of experience cycling Exmoor and half the world in the case of one of our Trustees! If you need advice on where to go just ask!

Summers coming

2012-07-10T16:14:00.001+01:00

The summer holidays are nearly upon us so why not book some time out at The Exmoor Centre for your family and friends. The bunkhouse is owned by a charitable Trust and we do everything we can to keep costs affordable to fulfil our remit to provide a cheap means for young people to explore the wilds of Exmoor as we have been since 1968.

The bunkhouse sleeps 14 people in two bunkrooms but there is ample space outside for tents. We have a built in BBQ and Campfire area for outdoor cooking and a gas stove and woodburning oven inside.

We are located a kilometre from the nearest road and houses and the centres grounds open directly onto one of the most remote valleys on Exmoor.

With August set to be an amazing month for stargazers the lucky souls staying with us will have one of the best views in the world due to Exmoors official Dark Skies Status and the fact that the bunkhouse is one of very few buildings located within the darkest area of the designated Dark Skies Area.

To book or enquire please email us at Stay at ExmoorCentre.co.uk

Mid-summer at Exmoor Centre

2012-06-25T15:47:00.002+01:00

A report from Liz Nicholson

A few of us have just had a wonderful Midsummer retreat at the centre.

We had beautiful walks and a new discovery was Farley Water, a very enchanting river and valley that runs parallel to Hoar Oak Water.We went in search of otters that have been seen there , we were not so lucky. It was a bonus that the hawthorn now over at home was in still in bloom in the valley.We loved the new hide, Annee, one of us braved the midges to sleep in the hide one starry night. There is a sacredness about the valley and the peace it brings.

To celebrate the solstice we put up flags and prayed that the centre will always be loved and cared for; we gave thanks for the abundance of green, the trees, the plants, the wonderful water, the beautiful clear air carried on the wind, the fire of the sun. There is nowhere as lovely as St Mary Lyncombe

Liz Nicholson is Secretary and Trustee of The St Mary Lyncombe Exmoor Trust.
http://liznicholson-psychotherapy.co.uk/

Quick, hide!

2012-06-12T17:26:00.001+01:00

Amongst the fun and games at the weekend the team staying at the bunkhouse built us the start of a hide. The plan is to improve this or move it as we gain experience of its position.

Its a short steep hike up to the top side of the site but the views over the trees make watching the deer possible in the valley opposite. The tree-top birds are closeby giving a good view of them and a clear view of the sky to watch buzzard, kestrel and sparrowhawk amongst others.

Looking down on the BBQ area from the hide path

The hide path

Tree-top and valley views relaxing in the hide

The hide, basic but it keeps the rain off and hides you a bit.

Weekend of fun and frolics

2012-06-11T11:29:00.001+01:00

This weekend the centre was booked by a friend of ours to celebrate his birthday and spend some time doing fun stuff with our kids.

These are a few pictures of the sort of fun that can be had with some imagination and the resources to hand at the Exmoor Centre

from the archives

2012-05-26T14:21:00.003+01:00

I was rummaging through some old family photos a few days ago and came across this one. It must be of an Ilfracombe College trip to the centre and an educated guess is sometime in the early to mid 90s. Does anyone recognise anyone in the picture?

Indoors at The Exmoor Centre

2012-05-24T10:40:00.001+01:00

Most of the posts on the blog are unsurprisingly about the great outdoors but at the end of the day when its too chilly outside even with the campfire going this is what we have indoors at The Exmoor Centre.

Firstly the kitchen, we have a gas stove with a four ring hob and a sink with hot and cold running water. Our water is spring fed, at present it is filtered but not treated so it should be boiled before drinking. We will be installing a new treatment system in the near future as soon as our solar power system is upgraded. There are saucepans, kettles, tea-pots, cutlery and crockery provided. The wood burning stove also has a built in oven that is great for jacket potatoes and baking sausages.

The two bunkrooms have eight and six bunks (14 total maths fans). The bunks have mattress topper sheets but you'll need to bring sleeping bags and pillows as required.

The wood lined living area has benches and collapsible tables making it very flexible for eating and relaxing around the wood-burner. The woodburner itself is a 10.5kW version so is more than capable of heating the whole bunkhouse. There are two additional camp beds in the living area that group leaders often use.

The centre has 240v electricity but this is provided by a noisy diesel generator, we prefer to use the free 12v solar generated electricity. The solar system provides lights throughout and sockets for 12v power (car chargers for phones, laptops etc).

There is a communal washroom with two basins (H&C water) and two WC cubicles, one of which has a shower. We have solar shower water bags that can be used in the shower or outside. The solar shower bags have proven to be extremely popular, they are very cheap to buy (under £5ea if bought in bulk) and we recommend large groups acquire them for extended stays here.

At the back of the bunkhouse there is a large covered drying area, very useful given Exmoor unpredictable climate.

A few improvements

2012-05-23T17:05:00.001+01:00

Today we have had some improvements done at The Exmoor Centre.

The fence to the river was forever getting broken due to people climbing over it to get to the river, the obvious solution was a new gate in the fence.

We have installed a few big rocks along the edge of the camping area to prevent vehicles being driven onto the site.

The next improvement was to make a pathway between the bbq area and the campfire. Until now getting between the two has meant vaulting a low wall or a detour half way around the campsite.

Lastly we have levelled and made the campfire area bigger. Now all you need to do is email us and book your time in the wilds of Exmoor and test out the new features.

The wilds of Exmoor

2012-05-21T12:41:00.000+01:00

Exmoor is best known for its hogsback sea cliffs and dramatic wooded combes but our favourite bit are the wilds of the moor. The Exmoor Centre is on the very edge of the open moor and from here you walk straight out into an almost untamed landscape. Below are a few photographs showing the landscape up the valley from the Bunkhouse.

Bluebells

2012-05-13T12:08:00.003+01:00

Exmoor bluebells are finally giving us a weird splash of blueness in our otherwise lush green landscape. The best of them in my book are on the National Trust Watersmeet Estate. You can find them by following the east Lyn river upstream from Watersmeet via the bridleway to Rockford.

To the Batcam!

2012-05-13T11:19:00.002+01:00

Have you ever tried to photograph bats? Its jolly difficult. I met this one on the way home yesterday, I'm not a bat expert but by its size and behaviour it may be a Daubentons Bat. I took about 40 pictures and these rubbish ones are the best two!

Will :-)

Many moons ago

2012-05-04T14:25:00.001+01:00

Trawling through my files looking for something else I came across this photograph of my old Range Rover out at The Exmoor Centre in the late 90s.

Back then the centre was managed as it had been for many years by Ilfracombe Comprehensive School, Ilfracombe Arts College as it is now. My brother Jonny Bowden helped run the centre along with Keith Rickwood from Devon Youth Service. Both are still involved with the centre today. Jonny now does the bookings for the centre and Keith is a Trustee and user with the Youth Service.

Its amazing the loyalty the centre instils in those who use it. Our treasurer Steve Keable was one of the schoolboys who built the centre in the 60s and our Chairman John Gale has been with the project since day one, even now in his 80s he has a day to day handle on the running of the centre.

If you've never visited us its time you started your life-long involvement... email stay@exmoorcentre.co.uk

Twitter

2012-05-03T13:51:00.004+01:00

We are well used to tweeting at the Exmoor Centre with the huge variety of birdlife that surrounds the bunkhouse but now the Centre itself is Tweeting. Follow us on Twitter as @ExmoorCentre

We would love to hear you Exmoor Centre stories if you have stayed at the bunkhouse over the past 45years of its existence. Email us at Will @ ExmoorCentre.co.uk with your tales or at the usual Stay@ email address for bookings.

Testing times

2012-05-02T12:11:00.002+01:00

Yesterday was our water test day. The centre uses a private spring water supply so we have to have this tested periodically to make sure it is fit for use. We have used the same supply for nearly 45 years, it is unreliable in terms of quantity available and its ability to freeze up occasionally for 7 months of the year but it is the only option we have available to us.

Myself and Jacqueline our 'nearly Trustee' were tasked with dealing with the water. We met the 'chap from the ministry' as Jacqueline insisted on calling him and loaded up the Land Rover with boxes of empty sterile bottles, clipboards and oddly a blowtorch. Our water inspector turned out to be a decent approachable chap and we had a jolly morning learning a lot about water.

Centre Manager Will (Me) in orange discussing the finer points of traditional spring water catchment pits with the man from ministry. Our catchment is a rare example of the traditional means of catching spring water. A three sided chamber is built into the hillside with the four side created by the exposed strata of the rock from which the spring rises. the pit is lined internally with clay. The pit is covered with a concrete 'roof' with an manhole cover for inspection.

Fallen trees, looking down the gully from the catchment area.

Heading back along the steep wooded hillside to the centre for a well earned mug of coffee made with our own free spring water. We still recommend that water is well boiled before drinking as although the water is filtered it is not fully treated as we don't have power to run a UV system reliably.

Thanks to Jacqueline Le Sueur for the Photos and the coffee making :-)

Water water everywhere

2012-04-29T17:43:00.001+01:00

Exmoor doesn't appear to be short of water today! A few pictures from my trip out to The Exmoor Centre this afternoon to prove it!

The river is usually 8' or so wide and crystal clear at this point.

Water usually trickles under this river fence.

The gate at the south of the site onto the moor. The gully this water is pouring from is usually bone dry.

The Land Rover tyres are 33" high, the bonnet just dipped under in the middle! Its deep.

Biking again

2012-04-24T16:19:00.000+01:00

Blog post by Jacqueline Le Sueur, Friend of The Exmoor Centre

Whenever you tell people that you live on Exmoor and you love to cycle they always raise an eyebrow and say, "Cycle, on those hills?" This is usually exclaimed with an upward intonation, a raised eyebrow and a hint of 'you must be mad to do that'.

All I can say is if you have a mountain bike, a stay in the Exmoor Centre is definitely for you! The bridle paths on the moor around the bunkhouse make for some truly dynamic biking. Wild moorland scenery, rushing streams, Exmoor ponies grazing and buzzards soaring overhead. You might also come across one of the many standing stones or Iron Age remains that are scattered across the moor. And when you are here, don't forget to pedal along our beautiful lanes. Whether careening down hills at an exhilarating speed or pushing up them and feeling your muscles scream there is always plenty to see. Wild orchids in the hedgerows in April, lambs spronking in the fields in springtime and banks of pink rosebay willowherb in the summer. And don't forget our pubs - the perfect place to quench your thirst and sample locally-sourced food.

Hills? What hills! What goes up must come down!

Get in Quick

2012-04-11T15:23:00.002+01:00

We have had a cancellation for the weekend of 20-22 April. Phone your mates, get a crowd together and book yourselves in for an Expedition to The Wilds of Exmoor!

The bunkhouse sleeps 16 and theres camping space outside for hardy souls. The centre is located a kilometre along a bridleway across open moorland so no car access but we can transport your luggage and kit out there by Land Rover for a modest fee.


Stepping stones to the bunkhouse

We are on the edge of the high open moor in one of the most remote valleys on Exmoor. Its the idea place to base an expedition to the wilds of the moor with places like the remote and atmospheric http://www.hoaroakcottage.org/ and many mesolithic sites to hunt out.

The stunning view from above the bunkhouse at our boundary

water water everywhere

2012-04-09T11:16:00.000+01:00

Panic set in last week when we thought the bunkhouse spring had dried up!

This does happen most years but only for a brief spell during the summer usually. Bizarrely it seems to coincide to within 48hours of the drying up of a stream several miles away that I cross most days on my dog walk, as this stream is still trickling along Ok I thought it worth a bit more investigation. Getting to the source of the bunkhouse water is easier said that done. It is in a small combe high above the centre and 300m or so to the north. There is no footpath to it so its a case firstly of vaulting a barbed wire fence that is 6" higher than my inside leg measurement then battling through fallen trees and slippery slopes for ten minutes before arriving at the hidden gully and the spring.

When the centre was built the spring was tamed by means of three sided stonework wall to form a catchment tank. This is topped with a concrete 'roof' with a steel manhole cover for access. Looking inside you see the crystal clear water trickling out of the stone and into the clay lined tank. From here a plastic pipe takes the water down to the bunkhouse. The problem was the clay lining had failed slightly meaning the water level had dropped to below the intake pipe level. A quick redistribution of clay saw the water level rising again. For good measure I found some heavy stones and used them to weigh the intake pipe down a bit further.

The spring drying up is a constant worry over the summer so we have had an idea. We are looking to get a 1000litre tank to store water in the woods near the spring. This will hold a few days worth of water for the centre and hopefully even with the spring running at a trickle it will have time to replenish between groups and overnight.

Judging by the amount of water falling on Exmoor today I reckon we'll be alright waterwise for a day or two now...

Team Tiny

2012-04-06T15:06:00.001+01:00

Tiny the Pointer/Boxer/Ridgeback likes her comfort.

I've just got back from dropping Tiny and her team of humans out to The Exmoor Centre for an Easter Expedition to the wilds of Exmoor. Tiny insisted on her own seat in the Land Rover even though her bed was already taking up half the loadspace in the back.

Tiny and her four legged sidekick Budleigh (sp?) have instructed their humans to get the fire lit and were last seen tearing around the centre grounds drying off after a dip in the river. Both dogs completely over-excited and arguing over the bewildering choice of sticks available.

The humans are getting on with the sensible task of chilling beer in the river, basking in the spring sunshine and bagsying the best bunks before the rest of the group arrive during the day.

Smallest human is busy sheep spotting, 'sheep!' (points)....'sheep!' (points), I hope she progresses to cow, deer, buzzard and heron before long or she'll drive them all bonkers by the end of the weekend :-)

Snowing again

2012-04-04T15:20:00.001+01:00

I went to collect a groups kit from the bunkhouse today.

They've had a great time, some of them have even been in the river!

Its warm and cozy indoors thankfully as winter is back on Exmoor. On the moor heading over there were full size snow flakes, down in the valley it was flitting between snow and sleet and bitterly cold. I hope it warms up a bit before the next group arrive on Friday.

The kitchen sink

2012-04-02T18:36:00.001+01:00

The group arriving at The Exmoor Centre today are here for an action packed few days. The have brought everything they could possibly need.

Tonight they will be watching a film outside on a big screen run from a laptop! Brilliant idea, with Exmoors spectacular night sky overhead it will be an experience the kids will never forget.

Tomorrow they have Archery to look foreward to as well as frisbie games with the great frisbie targets we took out today. They'll also be doing some fencing, swords not stakes, shame as the fencing with stakes would be more use to us with the lambing season underway!

The steep slippery track down into the valley where The Emoor Centre is hidden

Spring!

2012-03-23T11:43:00.000+00:00

Spring has finally sprung at The Exmoor Centre. Only just though and you do have to look very carefully!

Weekends are starting to get booked up so now is the time to book yourself in for an expedition to the wilds of Exmoor. It really is the ideal spot to explore the remoter parts of the moor on foot or mountain bike, we can also put you in touch with horse riding stables within walking distance of the centre. With bunk spaces for 14 inside plus two campbeds in the living area and tent space in the grounds you can bring everyone along to enjoy the experience. The bunkhouse is remote, it lies just over a kilometre from the nearest tarmac road so access is not possible by car, we do however offer to transfer luggage with our Land Rover for a modest fee.

The remoteness of the bunkhouse means it is within The Exmoor Dark Skies Reserve (http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/environment/landscape/dark-skies) meaning if the nights are clear you will see an amazing night sky with more stars visible than you could imagine.

The Exmoor Centre is owned by a charity and run as cheaply as possible to provide accommodation for young people as it has since 1968. Email us at Stay@ExmoorCentre.co.uk for details.


Buds just starting to burst


The longer days are charging our solar batteries nicely now providing free lighting and 12v power for phone chargers and laptops.

The Pixie House.