North Devon and Exmoor on the Atlantic Highway

Route description

Clovelly is a car-free village of whitewashed cottages on a cobbled street that tumbles down to a tiny harbour; you enter through the visitor centre at the top. Follow the A39 through Bideford and Barnstaple, then turn north to Ilfracombe, a harbour town watched over by a giant modern statue.

The A399 and A39 run east into Exmoor. Just before Lynton, the Valley of Rocks is a dry valley of rock towers and wild goats above the sea. Below, Lynmouth sits at the mouth of a deep gorge, linked to Lynton above by a water-powered cliff railway.

The A39 then climbs Countisbury Hill and, further on, descends Porlock Hill, one of the steepest A-roads in Britain at up to 25%. Motorhomes and caravans should use the toll road through the woods instead. Porlock is a quiet village near a shingle bay.

Head inland to Dunkery Beacon, the roof of Exmoor, and on through Exford to Tarr Steps, a long stone clapper bridge over the river Barle. Finish in Dunster, with its medieval yarn market and castle. Exmoor is a dark-sky reserve, so stay a night for the stars; the lanes are narrow with high hedges everywhere.