Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
chips. Dinner could see you tucking into terrines of Withycombe pork with toasted bri-
oche, while the seafood platter (£30 per person) is piled high with lobster, crab, oyster,
scallops and crevettes. The upstairs rooms (doubles £88 to £138) are surprisingly plain.
Information
Porlock Tourist Office
( 01643-863150;
www.porlock.co.uk
;
West End, High St, Porlock; 10am-12.30pm &
2-5pm Mon-Sat, 10am-1pm Sun Easter-Oct)
In the winter it's open in the morning only.
Getting There & Away
For bus travel to Porlock
Click here
. Bus 39 (seven daily, Monday to Saturday) shuttles
between Porlock, Porlock Weir and Minehead.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Lynton & Lynmouth
POP 4900
With precipitous cliffs and steep, tree-lined slopes, the landscape surrounding pretty, har-
bour town Lynmouth is striking. It was also in part to blame for a flash flood in the 1950s
which claimed scores of lives - memory of the disaster remains strong in the village.
From Lynmouth's souvenir stores, a rocky headland winds up to the Victorian resort of
Lynton. You can get there via a remarkable water-operated railway, or a stiff cliff path
climb.
Sights
Cliff Railway
RAILWAY
( 01598-753486;
www.cliffrailwaylynton.co.uk
; single/return adult £2.30/3.20, child £1.40/2; 10am-6pm
Easter-Oct)
This extraordinary piece of Victorian engineering was designed by George
Marks, believed to be a pupil of Brunel. Two cars linked by a steel cable descend or as-
cend the sloping cliff face according to the amount of water in the cars' tanks. All burn-
ished wood and polished brass, it's been running like clockwork since 1890 (a history dis-
play at the Lynmouth station details its ingenious creators), making for an unmissable
ride.
