Walking on Exmoor and staying at Catsheys luxury B&B - in Devon

If you're new here and enjoy my blog, I'd love you to to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

One of my favourite things is to go for a walk on the wild side on the Moors of Devon, but where my huband would like nothing better than to camp beside the river, I look forward to a little luxury at the end of the day. Luckily on our recent child-free weekend break, we came across Catsheys B & B which is more boutique than cowshed and full of artistic and multi-cultural touches to please a travelling girl like me.

We snuck out of Bristol early on the Friday and drove down to Devon, only stopping for supper at the cowslip yellow thatched Stag Inn at Rackenford, which our B & B hosts had recommended to us. We were welcomed by Rosie who lived for some time in South Africa, which was apparent from all the tribal art around the house. Her husband David is a furniture maker with a garage full of elm boards just waiting to be made into something beautiful. They lent us maps, gave us recommendations and waved us off the next morning for our day’s walking on Exmoor.

My husband knows Devon like the back of his hand having recently walked for several days on the Two Moors Way which runs from the North Devon Coast, across Exmoor and the valleys in between, then across Dartmoor and finishes on the South Devon coast. When I think of Devon I think lush green hills, heavily wooded valleys, narrow, high sided lanes and brown tussocks and yellow gorse on the moors. Above all there can be a dampness in the air and when you get down to the valleys the humidity is so high that every tree is dripping with moss. It’s the perfect habitat for the Ash Black slug which we went hunting for last time we were in Devon. The rivers are shallow and stony and often you come across places which would be perfect for paddling and swimming in warm weather.

Luckily the weather was on our side and the sun was shining brightly as we pulled into the car park at Simonsbath in the heart of the Exmoor National Park. We left the road following the footpath along the Barle River Valley in the direction of Cow Castle, an Iron Age Fort. The river was sparkling in the sun and after an hour or so, we diverged along a dry stone wall, over some dry moorland and through a pine plantation, then back along a bridle trail until we hit the road back down to Simonsbath. At the end we ran out of steam and lay down on the top of a grassy bank to feel the sun on our faces.

Then I got all the stories of my husband’s Two Moors walk with the Devon Yeomanry, when they camped overnight in the General’s barn and had dinner set up for them there with the regimental silver brought out specially for the occasion. If you’re not familiar with army traditions, when you leave your regiment you have to buy a piece of silver tableware as as a parting gift, and with so much to choose from they like to take every opportunity to show it off - even when camping in a barn after a walk on the Moor. The English are so eccentric! We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting some friends who live nearby and sat in their garden drinking tea and eating scones with clotted ceam - oh how very, very English. If you want a place to try the traditional clotted cream Devon tea, read my post about the Periwinkle Cottage Tea Rooms at Selworthy.

The tea was in lieu of lunch but in the evening we tried another quintessential thatched Devon pub, which has been turned in to a rather grown up Michelin Star restaurant. Read about our gorgeous dinner at the Mason’s Arms at Knowstone - it was something special indeed. Of course after our evening meal we were not exactly starving for breakfast the next morning, but as English B & Bs are all about the cooked breakfast, it seemed a shame to turn it down. Like her house, Rosie’s breakfast looked like a work of art on a plate and the eggs were intensely yellow, from her chickens running around in her kitchen garden.

Before setting off again for Bristol, I had a wander roung the beautiful garden which has uninerrupted views across the valley, a kitchen garden and a pool to swim in summer. You can see why someone tired of city life might want to come here for the peace and beauty, although for me a weekend is just perfect and then I’m happy to get back to the metropolis.

Catsheys Bed & Breakfast, Romansleigh, South Molton, Devon, EX36 4JW Tel: +44 (0)1769 550 580
Website: http://www.catsheys.co.uk/

You may also enjoy
The Mason’s arms at Knowstone - Michelin stars all round
Hunting the Ash Black Stag in Devon
Dinner at the Stag Inn at Rackenford in Devon
Castles and Cream teas at Dunster in Devon

Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

Don’t miss out - subscribe to Heather on her travels

The Mason’s arms at Knowstone, Devon - Michelin stars all round

How could you tell that the Mason’s Arms at Knowstone in Devon has a Michelin star although it looks like any other pictureque thatched Devon inn?

One clue is when the chef in immaculate whites with his name embroidered on the chest greets you as you pass the front door. Second is the large number of certificates, prizes and memorabilia from top resturants adorning the walls, not to mention the portrait of the chef himself at the entrance to the dining room. Third is the fact that every dish looks like a work of art, the food is piled into towers and the intense colours of the food dazzle the eye.

Mark Dodson who owns the Mason’s Arms with his wife Sarah has excellent credentials, having worked at Cliveden House Hotel and been Head Chef at The Waterside Inn at Bray for many years. The couple took over the Mason’s arms in June 2005 and by the July were open again for business, then in January 2006 were awarded a Michelin star which certainly helped to put them on the map. Sarah Dodson runs the front of house and we found the service by her team of ladies to be efficient and professional.

The Mason’s arms is an inn of two parts. You enter through a small bar where the local drinkers are welcomed for a pint, or you can sit on the terrace at the back with a pint and admire an uninterupted view over the lush green fields behind. My husband was welcomed into the pub with a group of thirsty walkers last time he passed through. But you get the feeling that the bar is just there to keep one foot in the local community. The real business here is undoubtedly the restaurant and the food.

You are ushered into the side room where you sit by the fire for a pre-dinner drink while some nibbles of olives, salted almonds and a hot canapé are brought to you. When you’ve ordered you go through to the dining room at the back. It’s not huge but they are clever in spacing out the bookings to maximise the orders. As we were on our way out, another couple were having their order taken, waiting to take the table.

The decor is a mixture of informal scrubbed pine tables pinched from some farmhouse kitchen, with some grown-up striped velvet chairs and expensive cutlery and glasses. The ceiling is painted with frescoes of revellers from ancient Rome and Venice adding a bit of artistic frivolity which tells you you’re not in just any Devon pub. The walls were buttercup yellow with flashes of gold and the silk curtains the colour of smoked salmon.

This is definitely the place you come for a special occasion and the other diners were almost all couples from 30s upwards who looked as they’d mentally marked it with ‘Big Night Out’. How many were celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, or just a rare night out away from the children.? My husband was convinced that the film director David Puttenham was sitting behind us, but I didn’t like to stare. Devon is full of aging rock stars and media types who value the laid back anonymity offered in the sleepy hollows and tucked away farms of Devon.

I started with some scallops with a salad and Thai dressing which was a more interesting choice than the soup that my husband chose and later I noticed that many of the other diners had gone for it too. Then I had some fish  which came piled on top of a round of potatoes, topped with aubergine puree and surrounded by red and green pieces of vegetables, with a basil leaf waving like a flag on top. Guy had some steak of which the overiding impression was of intense green spinach sauce that came on top and the bright green buttons of courgettes and broad beans to one side. He said the steak was delicious and meltingly tender, but then the green fields of Devon preduce some outstanding beef. Then for pudding a trio of Rhubarb puddings - a jelly, creme brulee and a mini rhubarb crumble. It all tasted delicious and well balanced although the lasting impression was of the way it was presented so colourfully.

The only disappointment were the loos, which although clean and pleasant were more pub than Michelin star - need to replace that utilitarian lino on the floor, guys. Or perhaps they have more muddy boots coming through than they care to admit.

This is the sort of place it’s worth building a weekend around which I suppose is what we did. The bill was around £100 for two of us enjoying three courses and a couple of glasses of wine. Not cheap, but then we’re worth it and so was the meal.

The Mason’s Arms, Knowstone, Devon, EX36 4RY, Tel 01398 341231
Website: www.masonsarmsdevon.co.uk

You may also enjoy
Dinner at the Stag Inn at Rackenford in Devon
Castles and Cream Teas at Dunster in Devon
Hunting the Ash Black Slug on Dartmoor in Devon

See all my Devon photos on Flickr

Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

Don’t miss out - subscribe to Heather on her travels

Dinner at the Stag Inn at Rackenford - in Devon

If you’re driving through North Devon, perhaps heading for the beautiful beaches of north and west Devon, then stop for dinner at the Stag Inn at Rackenford.

We were on our way for a Bank Holiday weekend break in Devon and it was recommended by the hosts at our stylish B & B. I’ve taken to asking the locals for recommendations at every opportunity as they often pick out great choices that aren’t in every guide book as this proved to be.

Five minutes off the A361 between Taunton and Barnstable, you drive into Rackensford and can’t miss the egg yolk yellow thatched inn, reputed to be the oldest pub in Devon, dating back to 1197. Inside and recently under new ownership, it’s been spruced up in true gastropub style with yellow walls and sage green wainscoting, with a smarter dining area at the back. As you’d expect the ancient charm is still there with the black dog dozing in front of the open fire, low beams to bang your head on and a bar made of huge slabs of wood and panelling taken from some ancient ship.

As we were the first customers of the evening, we were able to bag the seat by the fire and look at the menu chalked up on the blackboard. The food was very tasty and much of the meat and veg comes from the local oragnic farm owned by the owner’s family - but I had to laugh at the descriptions given to the food in places like this with foodie aspirations. We could have chosen Pork sausages in mash with red wine gravy (otherwise known as sausage & mash) or Red ruby organic surloin fillet with cherry tomatoes, pepper sauce and chips (otherwise known as Steak & Chips) In the end I had some seasonal asparagus with a fried duck egg on top and some very tasty pork chops in a cider sauce, washed down with some Sam’s dry Devon cider.

Next to us was a cheerful family from London heading for a beach break at the coast at Croyde, who were tucking into fish & chips (or was that beer battered cod with crushed peas and chips?) Soon the place was filling up with locals who were taking a pint or two in between the game of darts.

The only slightly jarring note was the 80s compilation playing in the background - remember Boy George and Karma Chameleon? Not sure I want to. We leafed through the local paper for riveting stories of how the latest Best Cornish Pasty Award had been won by (shock horror) a company from Devon. Then just as the evening was warming up we left to continue our short drive down the narrow backlanes to our Bed and Breakfast. Cost for drinks and supper for two £44.

The Stag Inn
Rackenford
Devon EX16 8DT
Website: www.thestaginn.com

You may also enjoy
Hunting the Ash-Black slug on Dartmoor in Devon
Castles and Cream teas at Dunster in Devon

Read more travel tales at Travel Blog Home

See my Devon photos on Flickr

Don’t miss out - subscribe to Heather on her travels

Next Page »