National Trust Stourhead

You’ll find not all the places I post will be Devon based, including this one…Stourhead…

The beautiful lake is one of the main features of Stourhead. Especially in Autumn.

Stourhead is a beautiful National Trust estate. Based in Wiltshire, famous for its landscaped gardens, stunning lake and Palladian estate. There are plenty of walks to do around the gardens. We visited on Sunday 11th November. If like us, you like to take your dog for days out too, then check when you are visiting. Stourhead does allow dogs into the landscaped garden area but you do need to check what times. During the summer months Dogs aren’t allowed in until after 4pm, in November, they can come in after 3pm. And all day from December - February.

We arrived at Stourhead by 2pm. A little too early to enter the gardens with our 4 legged friend. So we decided to do a walk to King Alfreds Tower. This is another beautiful walk on the Stourhead estate, which is very dog friendly. There is plenty of free parking around the area and easy to follow signs and maps. You may pass monuments along the way, walking through woodland and breathtaking countryside views. The main focal point of this walk is of course King Alfred’s tower, a stunning grade I listed triangular folly tower.

Once we had done the King Alfred walk. We then went back to the main National Trust car park at Stourhead. You do have to pay to enter the estate and gardens, but in my opinion it is worth it! We have a joint NT membership which is well worth the money. We headed straight towards the lake at Stourhead, the main reason I wanted to visit. It was just as beautiful as I was hoping it would be! Especially in the Autumn glowing light just before sunset.

We decided to walk all around the lake, which took us about an hour, as I was stopping to take in the stunning autumnal colours reflecting on the lake, as well as exploring the different buildings and the grotto that surrounds the lake.

If you’re wanting to visit this National Trust estate, I recommend you give yourself at least half a day to explore the whole area. Unfortunately we ran out of time, so we didn’t get to visit the rest of the gardens, shops or mansion. So we will definitely be visiting again! There is also a pump house next to the lake, which has a waterfall running beside it. Everywhere you look there is something beautiful to admire.

There is also a charming pub and courtyard between the estate and the lake called ‘Spread Eagle Inn’. We didn’t get time to stop and have anything to eat or drink here, but we definitely want to next time, it looked really cosy! As we were walking towards the lake I noticed some country cottages owned by the national trust, which appeared to be holiday let cottages.

The Lovely Cottages

Autumn in all its glory

Despite the drizzle, the rain managed to hold off for our day out. And whilst we were walking towards King Alfred’s Tower, we noticed a double rainbow! Just adding to the beauty around us!

A double rainbow at Stourhead

Stourhead was very busy on the November Sunday we visited, we struggled to find a car parking space at first. So do plan ahead and arrive early, especially if you’re visiting in the Summer or a weekend. I’m sure we will be back soon to explore the rest of the estate, and to view the gardens and lake in a different Season.

Climbing Peak Hill

One thing I do love about Devon is the beautiful coastal walks. The South West Coast path offers breathtaking views of Devon and Dorset. One of my favourite walks is along the Jurassic Coast from Exmouth to Sidmouth.

I’ve walked the coast path in places from Exmouth to Sidmouth, Branscombe to Beer and Beer to Seaton. On a cold and windy Wednesday in November, I decided to take the dog out for a walk along the coast path from Otterton to Peak hill, Sidmouth. One of my favourite walks of the coast path, due to the stunning views across the bay, and how high up you can reach on the walk!

I started the walk in the quiet village of Otterton. There’s something about Otterton that I love, its a charming little village that has a mill (Otterton Mill) beside the River Otter. It is also the gateway to Ladram Bay, a popular holiday park, which the coast path passes through.

I walked up from Otterton School where I parked, towards the public footpaths that lead to Ladram Bay. For those of you, like myself, that enjoy a bit of geocaching, there are lots of caches dotted around Otterton and the surrounding footpaths to do. Some of these geocaches are circular walks, which can help you explore the area whilst caching.

I walked up through Otterton’s sports ground, towards public footpaths that then join a field full of cattle. From here you then get treated to the breathtaking views of Ladram Bay, famous for its rocks and stacks by the pebble beach. Heading towards Ladram Bay, on a clear day you can see Sidmouth, Branscombe, Beer and beyond to Dorset, including the highest point of the south west coast path: Golden Cap!

Once I reached Ladram bay, I followed the signs for the coastal path, going through another field, which then leads you into some woodland. Careful if you do this path on a wet day, as it can get very muddy! Looking back behind me, I took one last look at Ladram Bay, before climbing further into the woods.

Doing this walk in Autumn, treated me to a blanket of colourful trees in the woods of Peak hill, reminding me of why I love this season so much!

From here you can carry on to Sidmouth, but first, if you feel fit enough, I would highly recommend you climb up the hill and steep steps to High Peak. At the top there is a beacon with an information board next to it, about the history and archaeology of this area. From here, you can see panoramic views across East Devon and Dorset. Be sure to take time to look in all directions! One way shows the coast, the other shows beautiful countryside views!

Once I had stopped to take in all the stunning views, I continued on for a bit longer towards Sidmouth. With the rain clouds approaching from above, I decided not to continue all the way to Sidmouth, but I made sure to walk far enough to a view point that showed off the Jurassic Coast at its best, as well as getting a good view of Jacob’s ladder standing out on Sidmouth’s pebble beach.

I was glad we turned back towards Otterton when we did, as soon as we got to the car, the heavens opened! And it didn’t stop raining all day after that! One thing I do need to add about this walk, is that there are quite a few steep inclines throughout the coastal path. You can make the walk as long or as short as you want, if you’re feeling fit enough, you can start at Exmouth and walk to Sidmouth. This is a tiring, but very enjoyable walk along the Jurassic coastline. Some days I do park up at Ladram Bay and walk to Sidmouth from there, this is a shorter, quicker, but just as enjoyable walk. It’s also handy to note that parking at Ladram Bay holiday park is free during the winter months.