80th Birthday and a Family Reunion in Lorna Doone Country

Last week was my uncle's 80^th birthday, and to celebrate he arranged a family gathering at a large country house that he used to own, which is located on the edge of Exmoor in Somerset, which is a very scenic part of Southwest England.

Since I spent 15 years in the USA and only returned to England 2 years ago, I hadn't seen some of the family in a long time, in fact I hadn't seen my uncle's 2 daughters in over 20 years, and had never met their children, all 11 of them, so I was really looking forward to the weekend. It was also an opportunity for my wife to meet them, and to get to know other family members better, as well as seeing this lovely part of the country that she hadn't been to before.

The drive up on Saturday morning took us 3 ½ hours, since there is no direct route to get there, and therefore no main highway.

We stopped about 15 miles before we got there at a small village that had a pub next to a railway station. There is a steam railway that runs from Taunton to Minehead and as we drove along one of the trains passed alongside us, puffing out lots of smoke as it pulled it's old fashioned carriages full of passengers along past fields full of sheep and the most wonderful scenery.

Never one to want to arrive late, I timed it so that we would have time to eat lunch, and we had a lovely meal in the pub, and then since we were not expected at the house until 3pm, we decided to drive a bit further along the coast on the edge of Exmoor.

The house is just outside of the village of Porlock, right on the border of the counties of Somerset and Devon, and Porlock is famous for it's hill, one of the steepest in the country that you can drive up.

Up the hill and over we went, and along the top of the moors, up in the clouds and mist, with lots of heather and sheep everywhere. About a dozen miles on we came to the small town of Lynton, which is also set on a very steep hill, and down below at the mouth of the river Lynmouth. The two are connected by a railway that goes up the cliff, the cars being taken up and down by gravity, filling a large tank with water.

We only had time to drive around and for Debbie to decide that she wanted to go back there, and then back across the moors again to check in at the house.

My uncle was a builder by trade, and in the late 70's he moved down to Porlock from The Midlands and purchased a small hotel in the town. He then had the opportunity to buy this big old country house that was in a dilapidated condition, and he converted it into 8 apartments, including their own which had a ballroom in it.

The house has extensive landscaped grounds, it's own tennis and squash courts, and even a lake. It's set at the foot of a steep hill and overlooks the coast and also the north edge of Exmoor, and when the weather is nice, Dunkery Beacon, which is featured in the novel Lorna Doone.

My uncle sold the property a few years ago to a German family who had stayed there and fallen in love with the place, and he retired to a smaller house. The family still live in Germany and have people in there to run the house, but they were all invited for the weekend, and in all there were about 45 people there.

We checked in, having an apartment to ourselves, and then went for a walk around the grounds before going back to get ready for drinks and a formal dinner in the large dining room / ballroom.

It was so nice to see aunts, uncles, cousins that I hadn't seen for a while, and the caterers provided a lovely meal too, which was preceded by drinks and canapés. We ate well, drank well, did a lot of talking and catching up as well.

After dinner and a speech by my uncle and a poem that one of his daughters wrote, the German family who now own the house all got up and sang for us. It was very "Sound Of Music-ish" (even though I know that was Austrian not German), and the father also played some old waltzes on the piano. It seemed a little bizarre in a house in Southwest England, but it was a lovely touch and they were a delightful family.

Food was provided for us in our apartment for breakfast on Sunday, and then we were all to gather for drinks on the terrace and a farewell lunch at midday.

We woke up early, because my wife wanted to watch the Formula One Grand Prix from Japan, and looking out of the bedroom window we saw Squirrels, Rabbits, and also Pheasants in the garden.

After we drove into the village with some of the family to take a walk and also as there was a local produce sale in the Community Hall. Here they had locally made cider, wine, meats and cheeses, chutneys, jams and cakes. It was very good.

Then back for drinks on the terrace, and fortunately the sun tried to break through the cloud, and it turned out very pleasant.

Afterwards a really delicious buffet lunch, the caterers doing a wonderful job again, and finally sad goodbyes, and a long drive home.

If you are ever in Southwest England and looking to stay somewhere near Exmoor, I highly recommend Lynch Country House. It's not expensive to stay in, but it's wonderful somewhere that is unique and also in a beautiful setting. I have included a few photographs from our weekend so you can sample the experience.