Sarah is continuing her trip through the West Country in Autumn
Buckle up, we have a lot of ground to cover.
Leaving Withypool
We could not leave the area without a visit to Tarr Steps, an ancient clapper bridge across the River Barle, and only a few minutes out of our way. This ancient stone bridge has been used by pack horses and travellers for centuries.
For the word nerds like me…
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word clapper comes from medieval Latin “clapus, or claperius”, which means a pile of stones. This is what appears in most of the information I found in the Exmoor guides.
However, Dartmoor National Park explains that the term originates from the Anglo-Saxon word “cleaca”, which means bridging the stepping stones. I think that describes the bridge far better, what about you?
Back to Tarr Steps
The River Barle was flowing quite fast, and looking at the uneven stones of the clapper bridge, together with the movement of water, I admitted defeat. I could not be persuaded to walk across! However, my lovely assistant made the journey for me, so you can see how safe it is for those without balance issues.
The ancient bridge is the longest in Britain: 55 metres across and it has 17 spans. It is also Grade I listed and an ancient monument dating back to medieval times. The fast flowing river carries loose branches and debris down to the bridge and every now and again the resulting flood damage needs to be repaired.
For those who like such details, Somerset Council have pictures of recent repairs to Tarr Steps here.
Even on a chilly November day, the area was busy with canoeists enjoying the excitement of the fast flowing waters and plenty of walkers embarking on the circular walk, which takes them across the steps. Yours truly, however, waited and watched by the water’s edge. Not quite alone, though… This little beauty kept me company.
Clapper bridges abound in the West Country, but I was reminded of the one we came across at Fuentes de Oñoro on our battlefield tour earlier this year (which you can read about in my blog here). Once again you can see my lovely assistant is very happy to demonstrate.
And onwards – to Dartmoor
I had promised myself this year that having come so far south we would visit a very special pub on the edge of Dartmoor.
From the pictures I had seen, the pub itself was well worth a visit but inside was something that makes it possibly unique. We set off, heading south, taking a meandering route through the damp and misty lanes of Exmoor.
We stopped to allow some riders to pass and a little further on a pack of fox hounds came bursting out of a gateway. Thankfully we were driving slowly!
Apologies for the quality of this image. It happened so quickly I only managed to snap one photo.
Hounds of the Baskervilles, perhaps? Oh no, it can’t be: we were still on Exmoor!
And on to Dartmoor
I have no idea what was wrong with the SatNav that day (not my department, thankfully). It took us on an exceedingly meandering route through very narrow lanes but we eventually arrived at our destination.
If we had been in Scotland I would have said it was a dreich day. The weather didn’t let up, and it rained even harder when we arrived at our destination.
The pretty village of South Zeal is on the northern edge of Dartmoor and at its centre is the pub we had come to visit—
The Oxenham Arms, an inn with a history going back 5000 years….
In the 12th century, Benedictine monks decided to build an abbey here, but they built it around a standing stone – the South Zeal Menhir.
The stone is at least 25 feet tall. (No one knows just how much lies beneath the ground.) It rises up through the cellar into the snug on the ground floor (which you can see in my photo), and continues upwards, the last 4 feet sticking up into one of the first floor rooms!
In the 14th century the owners of the monastery and estate, the Burgoyne family, transformed the house into a manor house.
Then, in 1477 they were granted a license to operate as an inn. Today it is a very popular pub.
Literary connections…
Captain John Oxenham was born here in 1536. He served with Sir Francis Drake as First Navigator for the English Fleet and died in Lima, Peru in 1580. In the 19th Century, Charles Kingsley featured the captain in his novel, Westward Ho!
Lord Kitchener (of Khartoum fame) came to the inn to visit his granddaughter, Lady Nora Francis Fanny Kitchener, who married the inn’s owner, Major Pat à Becket.
In 1911, the English author Eden Philpotts wrote The Beacon, a book based around the Oxenham Arms and South Zeal.
This is definitely a pub that has inspired writers!
…And it’s not just authors
While enjoying a pub lunch at the inn we saw two notices on the wall near our table.
We learned:-
- The actor Jon Pertwee visited the inn often to see his uncle, who lived at the inn with Major Pat à Becket and his wife, Nora (mentioned above).
- David Bowie has once sat at very table we were using!
And North to Porlock
The Ship Inn, Porlock, was our final destination for this year’s West Country tour. This is another old pub with ancient roots. It dates back to the 15th Century and is possibly older.
This trefoil headed timber window is possibly 16th century.
As one would expect of an old pub so near the coast, it was associated with smugglers and press gangs in bygone days.
The Ship’s Literary Connections
Apparently Samuel Taylor Coleridge visited the Ship, and the poet Laureate, Robert Southey, stayed there in August 1779. Did you know Southey wrote the original Goldilocks story? Apparently he wrote it while staying at the Ship.
He also wrote a Sonnet to Porlock when he was at the Ship, “by the unwelcome summer rain confined.”
You can read the whole sonnet here. He doesn’t actually wax lyrical about “Thy lofty hills which fern and furze imbrown” and ends by describing his work as “dull rhymes to pass the duller hours away”.
So he didn’t enjoy himself that much, then!
I have always visited Porlock with family or friends, so we have no dull hours to fill.
Inspiration strikes!
The above painting is a romantic view of the Ship Inn by local artist Maurice Bishop. It inspired me to write my 2011 Regency, Snowbound with the Notorious Rake. That story was published in the UK with another one by Christine Merrill. It has a very pretty cover, don’t you think?
Any inspiration from this year’s visit?
You bet! There was so much to inspire me, from a 5000 year old standing stone to clapper bridges, swollen rivers and misty moorland. Not to mention all the fascinating pubs! I have plenty of ideas for historical adventures and supernatural happenings.
All I need now is the time to write them all.
Happy reading
All images by Sarah Mallory except where otherwise noted.
Loads of places I’ve never heard of but now I do want to visit. You are ace at sussing out great pubs, Sarah.