The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - In Search Of...Hobbit-like walking paths

Melilot Brandybuck · 03-04-2009, 06:33 AM

IMO, Exmoor, a national park in the SW of the UK, (and where I live) is as Shire-like as can be. There are areas on this planet that receive more than their fair share of beauty, and Exmoor is one of them.

Gentle rolling fields and woodlands. Higher up, you come to open moorland covered in heather. Pretty streams, little villages with old cottages, very unspoilt countryside. And an extremely good network of public footpaths that go for miles and miles. Very untouristy, I can walk for hours and not see another soul. Plus, we have barrows - real honest to goodness barrows (if you fancy imagining yourself on the Downs). Not yet seen a barrow wight, but I keep hoping.

Exmoor is a walker's paradise, and because of the distance from larger cities, with no major roads spoiling it, it does not attract the hoardes of tourists that areas like the Cotswolds or New Forest do. Long may it stay that way. The countryside is very much as it looked a 100 years ago, even 200 years ago. As it is a National Park, it will stay that way. I love it here, and have yet to see a part of the UK I like more.

In fact, it so Shire-like, I always find myself thinking of the hobbits when I walk, I just can't help it!

03-04-2009, 06:33 AM	#33
Melilot Brandybuck Animated Skeleton Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 35	Exmoor IMO, Exmoor, a national park in the SW of the UK, (and where I live) is as Shire-like as can be. There are areas on this planet that receive more than their fair share of beauty, and Exmoor is one of them. Gentle rolling fields and woodlands. Higher up, you come to open moorland covered in heather. Pretty streams, little villages with old cottages, very unspoilt countryside. And an extremely good network of public footpaths that go for miles and miles. Very untouristy, I can walk for hours and not see another soul. Plus, we have barrows - real honest to goodness barrows (if you fancy imagining yourself on the Downs). Not yet seen a barrow wight, but I keep hoping. Exmoor is a walker's paradise, and because of the distance from larger cities, with no major roads spoiling it, it does not attract the hoardes of tourists that areas like the Cotswolds or New Forest do. Long may it stay that way. The countryside is very much as it looked a 100 years ago, even 200 years ago. As it is a National Park, it will stay that way. I love it here, and have yet to see a part of the UK I like more. In fact, it so Shire-like, I always find myself thinking of the hobbits when I walk, I just can't help it! __________________ The original and best Mel B