Walk - Hollerday Hill

3.1 miles (4.9 km)

Lynmouth seafront car park - EX35 6EN Lynmouth seafront car park

Moderate - Paths and quiet lanes, some ascent and descent, and a path high above the sea

A stroll through a spectacularly rock-strewn landscape, with castles and witches, as well as goats and woodland, an Iron Age hillfort, a family feud and a mansion allegedly burnt down by suffragettes.

There are a range of wonderful places to lay your head near the Coast Path for a well-earned sleep. From large and luxurious hotels, to small and personable B&B's, as well as self-catering options and campsites. The businesses that support the Path, where you've chosen to visit, are listed here.

The Denes Guest House

The Denes offer locally sourced food and comfortable en-suite bedrooms, facilities to dry outdoor gear and a selection of maps. Books, DVDs and board games for relaxation.

North Walk House

Right on the SWCP, friendly, homely atmosphere. Full English, licensed bar, dinner, adults only, groups, no dogs, luggage transfers. Lounge, terrace, free wi-fi, some parking

Lee House Bed & Breakfast

A comfortable and welcoming peaceful bed and breakfast with comfy beds and a great breakfast. Packed lunches and cream teas and laundry service also provided.

South View Guest House

Adjacent to the SW Coast Path, South View House is ideally located close to pubs, restaurants and shops. Packed lunches and afternoon cream teas provided on request.

St Vincent Guest House

Beautiful grade II Georgian B&B in the heart of Lynton, minutes from the coastal path. Packed lunch by arrangement & all diets catered for.

Bath Hotel

The Bath Hotel is a family run hotel overlooking the harbour in the picturesque village of Lynmouth, where Exmoor meets the sea.

Sinai House

4 Star accommodation with incredible sea views, offering peace and tranquillity. "Where Exmoor meets the Sea". Ideally located for the South West Coast Path.

East Lyn House

Bed and Breakfast accommodation, with terrance overlooking the river and down to the sea

Orchard House Hotel

Friendly, homely atmosphere. Full English breakfast, licensed bar, kit drying, luggage transfers,single occupancy reductions,walking parties welcome as well as pets & children

Lynmouth Holiday Retreats

Set in a truly picturesque part of the country; the Exmoor National Park has stunning views from almost every pitch on the park you can admire the view

Exmoor Coast Holidays

Campsite on working Cider Farm, Shop, off Licence, Restaurant and Bar

Exmoor Bunk House

Surrounded by dramatic valleys, rugged moorland and an impressive rocky coastline, the 18-bed Exmoor Bunkhouse is the ideal holiday destination for intrepid explorers of all ages.

Martinhoe Cleave Cottages

Three lovely cottages within Exmoor National Park close to the SW Coast Path and the dramatic moorland and coastal scenery of north Devon

Heddon Orchard Bothy

Heddon Bothy is a simple, basic four person hideaway. Bring your cooking and sleeping equipment. This is indoor camping for adventurers.

You'll be spoilt for choice for where to eat and drink along the Path. With lots of local seasonal food on offer, fresh from the farm, field and waters. Try our local ales, ciders, wines and spirits, increasing in variety by the year, as you sit in a cosy pub, fine dining restaurant or chilled café on the beach. The businesses that support the Path, where you've chosen to visit, are listed here.

The North Cliff Hotel

Right on SWCP,friendly,homely atmosphere. Full English,licensed bar,dinner,drying room,luggage transfers,families,groups,dogs,EV charger,free parking,wi-fi & bike storage

North Coast Café

Discover the North Coast Cafe in Lynton for bagels and sandwiches, hot savouries, homemade treats and exceptional coffee.

What is on your list of things to do when you visit the Path? From walking companies, to help you tailor your visit, with itineraries and experts to enhance your visit, to baggage transfer companies and visitor attractions there are lots to people and places to help you decide what you'd like to do. The businesses that support the Path, where you've chosen to visit, are listed here.

Lynton & Lynmouth Tourist Information Centre

Information on where to stay, local food and drink, festivals and events and things to do in these picturesque twin villages on the edge of Exmoor.

Exmoor National Park Visitor Centre, Lynmouth

Discover walking routes and information on places to visit in the Exmoor area

Interactive Elevation

Route Description

  1. Facing the sea turn left from Lynmouth Pavilion, carry on the road ignoring the cliff railway and the Coast Path. 
  2. Continue along the road and then through the Esplanade car park. Take the steep footpath on the left towards the end. At the top turn right to Join the Coast Path.
  3. On the Coast Path, turn right and follow it high above the sea for a little over a mile, ignoring the path leading away uphill and inland, to your left, a little beyond the halfway point. Shortly after the disused quarry the path curves to your left, around a craggy hillside with breathtaking rock formations looming above you, and then drops down beneath Castle Rock, to fetch up at the roundabout beyond. Take a detour up Castle Rock for some spectacular coastal views.

In the Devils' Cheesewring area of the Valley of Rocks is Mother Meldrum's Kitchen, the fictitious witch's cave made famous by RD Blackmore in his novel Lorna Doone (see the Lorna Doone Walk).

  1. From the roundabout turn left onto the road, and take the path along the verge, past the tearooms and onto the path to your left opposite the toilets. Take the right fork almost immediately afterwards, leading steeply uphill.

There is a herd of feral goats in the Valley of Rocks, and these can often be seen grazing in this area (see the Lynton and the Valley of Rocks Walk).

  1. Zigzag up the side of Hollerday Hill on this path, taking the detour to the left at the top for some more dramatic views and then returning to the main path.
  2. Where the path forks around the hill, take the right-hand fork and follow it around the hill and into the woods.
  3. The path uphill to your left after about a quarter of a mile will lead you up to the summit of Hollerday Hill, a great viewpoint over the Valley of Rocks and the surrounding countryside.
  4. From the summit, retrace your steps, or be adventurous: there is a network of paths leading through the woods on the hill, well-signposted and easy to follow. Check out the Iron Age fort, and the ruins of Hollerday House, with its tennis court and reservoir.

Hollerday House was built in 1890 by George Newnes. The son of a Derbyshire minister, he was working as a haberdasher in Manchester when he struck gold with the publication of his magazine, Tit-Bits, whose content of short items appealed to a population now receiving a better education and hungry for light entertainment. The magazine Country Life followed; and when his Strand magazine featured the exploits of Sherlock Holmes, crafted by the pen of his great friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Newnes's fortunes rocketed.

In common with many a Romantic, including Coleridge and Wordsworth, Newnes fell in love with the Exmoor coastline; and after several holidays in the area, he decided to move his empire down here, where, like the Scottish Hallidays in neighbouring Glenthorne, (see the Glenthorne Walk), he set about spending his wealth on ambitious projects.

The first was the cliff railway, a water-powered funicular designed by local engineer George Marks and opened in 1890, costing £8000 (see the Valley of Rocks Woodland Walk).

Other gifts to the community followed: Lynton Town Hall, the Congregational Church, the cricket pavilion. Perhaps Newnes's biggest contribution to the district was his role as a leading member of the group responsible for building the Lynton to Barnstaple narrow gauge railway, which opened in 1898.

Despite his altruism, however, Newnes appears to have been something of a snob, and it it said that the reason he pushed for the railway to run (somewhat inconveniently to its passengers) from Lynton rather than the more obvious Minehead was to keep out the hoi poloi and preserve his “Little Switzerland” for the better class of tourists.

On the day the first train ran, one of its chief instigators, William Halliday, passed away, leaving the Halliday fortune to his son Ben, and relations between the Newnes and Halliday families took an abrupt turn for the worse. This was exacerbated by the clandestine romantic affair between Ben and Claire Newnes, George's daughter, culminating, in 1900, in Claire finding herself with Ben's child. Her father responded to the news in an explosive manner which is apparently still the stuff of legend in Lynton today. The two were married, however, and the birth of their twins, and another child in a year or two, eventually softened George's attitude towards the Hallidays.

Claire was a leading light in the women's suffrage movement, and when Hollerday House was burnt down in mysterious circumstances, a short while after the family was forced to sell it after the unexpected collapse of the Newnes empire, there was a suggestion that it was as a result of the action of suffragettes.

  1. When you have finished exploring, take the footpath signposted to Lynton, and follow it downhill to the track below.
  2. From here, drop down onto the road, and turn left, staying on this road until you come to the church.
  3. Pick up the Coast Path again and follow it as it zigzags downhill over the cliff railway and returns you to the start of the walk.

    Public transport

    TW Coaches routes 309 and 310 travel several times a day between Barnstaple and Lynmouth, stopping in the Coach Park in Tors Road, while Quantock Motor Services route 300 travels a few times a day from Minehead, stopping at Lyndale Bridge on Countisbury Hill .

    For timetable information, zoom in on the interactive map and click on the bus stops, visit Traveline or phone 0871 200 22 33.

     

    Parking

    Lynmouth and the Valley of Rocks car park - payment needed

     

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