Court Farm Holiday Cottages, Exmoor

24/07/2024

Inquisitive ponies as I walked back to the car with the dogs this morning ❤️

01/07/2024

All we need are some clear nights 😊

In the Sky: July

Globular clusters are some of the most beautiful deep sky objects and July will be a great time to see them. In most galaxies including our own Milky Way, globular clusters form a halo around the galactic core. As a result, we see most of them in the general direction of the centre of the Milky way in Sagittarius. The way the Earth just happens to be orientated in space means that the southern hemisphere points towards Sagittarius and the northern hemisphere points away from it. So unfortunately for us, Sagittarius and the dense centre of the Milky Way aren't visible for most of the year.

However, in July the galactic centre is positioned as well as it can be for us and as a result there are numerous globular clusters visible when looking south around midnight. Most appear as small fuzzy balls of light in small telescopes or binoculars but in medium and larger amateur scopes, they're quite spectacular! If you're at a nice dark site, scan the southern sky with binoculars around midnight and see how many you can spot. The brightest and easiest are M13 and M3 so those are a good place to start, but you should be able to see all of the ones on the chart above.

If you have a telescope of four inches aperture or larger, you should be able to resolve M13 and M3 into some individual stars. And in large amateur telescopes they appear as a myriad of sparkling points of light.

Tim Wetherell

01/07/2024

Definitely worth a visit when in Lynmouth

Delighted to be hosting the "Women of Hoar Oak" exhibition throughout the month of July at our Exmoor National Park centre in Dunster . The centre is open seven days a week from 10am to 5pm.
Between 1800 and 1960, seventeen women lived at Hoar Oak Cottage. Visit the exhibition to find out what life was like living at one of Exmoor's remotest locations.
Friends of Hoar Oak Cottage Exmoor Society Visit Exmoor Discover Dunster Dunster Info Love Minehead Bay Exmoor News

27/06/2024

Latest news from Exmoor National Park

Have a read of our latest 'Exmoor ParkLife' - keeping everyone up to date with the latest news from Exmoor National Park Authority.
https://campaignlp.constantcontact.com/em/1102765974837/2909ce52-be86-45ac-b385-c2dadf765f3e

Parracombe Community News Exmoor Society Timberscombe Talk Dulverton Community Group Village Shop, Withypool, Exmoor South Molton Noticeboard Bampton Community Notice Board Events and whats happening in Barnstaple. Community Council for Somerset What's on North Devon

14/06/2024

We have some upcoming availability in our cottages as shown below. Hopefully summer will have arrived by then! Bring your dogs too.
Further details on the website https://courtfarm.co.uk/

SNOWDROP (SLEEPS 2)
Friday 19th or Saturday 20th July – 7 nights £525
Saturday 27th July – 7 nights £525

MOUNTAIN ASH (SLEEPS 4)
Saturday 22nd June – 3 nights £320, 6 nights £620
Sunday 14th July – 7 nights £840

ROWAN (SLEEPS 4)
Saturday 13th July – 7 nights £840
Saturday 27th July – 6 nights £720

13/05/2024

Not to be missed! 🐎🐎🐕🍪🍵

10/05/2024

Northern lights from tonight, starting green and then moving to pink!

06/05/2024

We are dog-friendly and your four-legged friends are more than welcome at Wimbleball Lake 🐶

We only ask that they are kept on a lead at all times. This is for:

⚠️ Safety: reservoirs are not safe for your dog to swim in or drink from as toxic blue/green algae may be present in the water.

🐾 Enjoyment: not all people or dogs like being approached by other dogs (no matter how friendly), and we want all of our visitors to have a safe and enjoyable visit.

🦋 Wildlife: Wimbleball is home to an abundance of wildlife, any disturbance can be detrimental.

Help us keep Wimbleball Lake accessible and enjoyable for all🌿

20/04/2024

Our next Dunster Outback Guided Walk is at 11am on Wednesday May 1st. This is a four mile guided walk, taking in the historical sites of Dunster village and the breathtaking views above the village from the ancient hillforts of Grabbist Hill and Bat’s Castle.

The walk route includes some steep inclines, over uneven ground. A moderate level of fitness is required. Please ensure you bring suitable outdoor clothing and walking boots. Dogs on short leads allowed.

This is a free walk but donations for CareMoor for Exmoor are welcomed. Further info & booking details can be found here: https://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/exmoor-for-everyone/things-to-do/events/events-folder/dunster-outback-walk?SQ_CALENDAR_DATE=2024-05-01 Please note that we only have FIVE PLACES LEFT on this walk.

Discover Dunster Dunster Info Dunster Beach Holidays Visit Minehead Visit Exmoor Visit Somerset

20/04/2024

Lots of free events in Exmoor National Park for all ages coming up this Spring and Summer, for more checkout the events section of our website.
www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/exmoor-for-everyone/events

18/04/2024

28/03/2024

Talk about 4 seasons in one day! Snow, heavy rain, wind, sunshine and rainbows! The joys of living on The dogs loved it though.🤣😍

27/03/2024

A few more pictures of the unexpected snow we had this morning. China's first experience of the white stuff.

27/03/2024

Wasn't expecting to wake up to this!

22/02/2024

Don't miss this new series all about Somerset. Exmoor ponies on Winsford Hill feature in Episode 3.

Anchor Exmoor ponies will be featuring in episode 3 (subject to Channel 5 scheduling)

08/02/2024

See it if you can

26/01/2024

It's Snowdrop Valley time 😊

🙌 Snowdrop Valley opens tomorrow - Saturday 27th January at 9.00am until 4.00pm!
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🚙 Parking is at Cutcombe Market car park, £5 per car. There are a choice of walks down to the valley and back, maps available.
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🍰 Refreshments available in the market car park and locally in the village.
•
‼️🥾The paths are muddy in places, please wear suitable footwear!
•
💚 For all the details, please visit:
https://www.wheddoncross.org.uk/snowdrop-valley

26/01/2024

After some cottage redecorating, we are reopening for the season at the end of February. We have the following availability in March:

SNOWDROP (SLEEPS 2)
Sunday 10th March – 3 nights £164, 7 nights £388
Saturday 16th March – 3 nights £172, 7 nights £388

MOUNTAIN ASH (SLEEPS 4)
Monday 4th March – 3 nights £231, 5 nights £393
Saturday 9th March – 3 nights £247, 7 nights £563
Saturday 16th March – 3 nights £247, 7 nights £563
Saturday 23rd March – 3 nights £247, 5 nights £401

ROWAN (SLEEPS 4)
Monday 4th March – 3 nights £231, 4 nights £308
Saturday 16th March – 3 nights £247, 5 nights £401

You can find out more on the website www.courtfarm.co.uk
Thursday 28th March – 3 nights £267, 4 nights £362

Exmoor is also home to the darkest skies in England and we have been accredited as Dark Sky friendly by Exmoor National Park so if you are in to stargazing or

18/12/2023

In the Sky: December

As 2023 draws to a close, we can begin to see the familiar constellations of winter in the night sky. Orion is probably one of the most easily recognised, and is home to the Orion nebula - a giant star factory and one of the best deep sky objects to view through a telescope. The nebula can be found by scanning directly below the 3 distinctive stars of Orion's belt.

Later in the evening, around midnight, will present an opportunity to see the very seasonally named, Christmas Tree cluster. It's a distinctive open star cluster forming a tightly grouped pattern of different coloured stars and does indeed look very much like a Christmas tree! To find it, locate Betelgeuse In Orion (the top left of the bright outer box of stars) and the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor. The Christmas Tree will be about half way between the two and slightly up.

This type of star hopping is the best way to manually locate objects in the sky. Find stars or constellations you can identify and use them to locate other objects. Of course if you're more tech-minded, there are a number of very good apps most of which have a feature that will show you the sky map for the region you point your phone at. One I like is "Stellarium" but there are many others. They are a fantastic way to learn the constellations and will even notify you of things like the times the International Space Station will be visible in your area.

Finally, December will be the best time for a while to observe Jupiter. It's nice and high in the sky in the mid evenings so the cloud belts and Great Red Spot should be visible in any reasonably good telescope. Don't miss the chance, by February it will be disappearing into the twilight, not to return until well into 2024.

Tim Wetherell

18/12/2023

Rather peculiar pink tinge to the sky this morning!

30/10/2023

Meeting the locals and plenty of rainbows. China enjoys her morning walk with Pumpkin on Winsford Hill.

26/10/2023

Sorry, now booked again so no Christmas vacancy now.

26/10/2023

Join us and Exmoor National Park this Friday 27 October for a moonlit walk around Wimbleball Lake!

Rise to the challenge of walking 9 miles around the lake under a full moon and dark skies. We’ll be setting off at 5pm, expect the walk to take three to four hours. ⭐️

Celebrate completing the walk with hot chocolate around the campfire. ☕

More info: https://www.swlakestrust.org.uk/Event/moonlit-walk-for-exmoor

All proceeds/sponsorship will be shared equally between Exmoor Search & Rescue Team and CareMoor for Exmoor.



📸Photo credit: Richard Wiltshire

06/10/2023

Nearly time to look up .....

14/08/2023

We have some availability in our lovely 2 bedroom cottage Mountain Ash (sleeps 4 people in one double and a twin bedroom) over the next couple of months (mostly October) which is listed below. Dogs welcome as well. You can book on-line, call us on 01643 831207 or message us.

From Sat 26th August - 6 nights £660, 5 nights £550
From Fri 22nd or Sat 23rd Sept - 7 nights £660, 3 nights £290
From Mon 9th October - 3 nights £270, 5 nights £460
From Sat 14th October - 3 nights £290, 7 nights £660
From Sat 21st October - 3 nights £290, 7 nights £660
From Sat 28th October - 3 nights £228.75