Holnicote Estate celebrated 60 years of National Trust ownership in 2004. Stretching for 20 square miles and incorporating about 7% of Exmoor National Park: it offers the complete countryside experience.
Holnicote was gifted to the Trust in 1944 as an estate with a natural diversity not easily found elsewhere. It can boast something that will appeal to everyone; from shoreline at Porlock Bay to picturesque thatched villages; isolated moorland to elevated vistas at Selworthy Beacon and the highest point on Exmoor – Dunkerey Beacon.
In the valleys, mature woodlands such as Horner Wood hold thousands of ancient trees, many of which date back over 700 years and over 300 species of lichen. Throughout the estate, wildlife is everywhere – from Red Deer to the Dartford Warbler and Otter.
There are also over a thousand recorded archaeological features on the estate – Bronze Age cairns, barrows, iron age hill-forts and deserted medieval village sites.
For anyone looking for an activity break, Holnicote caters for everything from demanding cycling routes, to hiking or even hang-gliding. And there are bags of accommodation on the Estate, much of it farm stays, to suit every budget.
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