Photo by Twitchen Farm B&B
Photo by Twitchen Farm B&B
This photo was taken by Alex Waldron, a young promising wildlife photographer. You can follow Alex on Twitter @AlexWaldron98
Join Experience Exmoor on Sunday, 5 May, for a special Exmoor Pony Safari followed by tea with the celebrated Author of children’s pony books Victoria ‘Tortie’ Eveleigh and her husband & illustrator Chris.
“We will head out from Lynton at 2 pm for a 2 hour safari to seek out several Exmoor Pony herds – some with newborn foals – on the open moorland. After our 2 hour Exmoor Pony trip, Tortie and Chris Eveleigh are awaiting us at their West Ilkerton farm with refreshments – and some special treats for Exmoor Pony lovers.”
Tortie’s new book, Joe and the Hidden Horseshoe, comes out on 2 May – what a great opportunity to get a signed copy! Of course, Tortie’s other books, the Katie’s Ponies trilogy and A Stallion Called Midnight, will also be available.
After tea it’s time to get up close with three very special Exmoor youngsters – Orion and and his sisters Gaia and Demeter who were born in May 2011. They are very special to Tortie and Chris as they are the final three foals they bred by the lovely stallion Acreswild Zeitgeist who’s fondly known as Ziggy.
As Tortie was taken on by the publishing group Orion Children’s books in June 2011, she decided to call the only colt foal of that year Orion. Pop over to Tortie’s website to read about Orion’s early training.
Neil Osmond, Director of Experience Exmoor says: “We are delighted to be able of offer this great opportunity to not only see Exmoor Ponies in the wild, but also get people really close to these beautiful animals. To have a popular author like Tortie Eveleigh invite our safari to her farm is a special treat. We can promise our guests a truly unforgettable event!”
Orion, the Exmoor Pony
Call us or e-mail Neil and Christel at Exmoor Experience to book your place for this unique event!
Photo by Jochen Langbein
Even after 25 years of sheep farming, there is still a wonder in watching the arrival of new lambs, even if the lambing season does herald long hours and little sleep. In 2013 we’ll be opening the barn doors again, for our forth year of Lambing Open Days.
It’s always a little bit daunting to invite visitors onto the farm right in the middle of the busiest time of the year. But the response has been great, and with the new lambing barn viewing gallery proving a great success, we had several hundred people visiting the barns each year, and we’ve been delighted with the reaction so far (see guest book comments)
The ewes have been very obliging, giving birth right on cue, so much so that almost everyone who came was able to see a lamb born. To me there is just as much wonder in seeing how quickly a lamb is on it’s feet and suckling from it’s mother, and a visit of a couple of hours allowed most visitors to see lambs born, then making those first vital steps.
Of course there is far more to lambing than just the arrival of the lambs, so the rest of the barns were set out to allow easy access, with information posters describing the workings of the lambing barns, together with shepherding traditions and sayings.
We’re opening at 11 am until 4 pm From Saturday 30th March 2013 to Monday 1st of April.
Please wear outdoor footwear.
Admission £5 for Adults, £2.50 for Children over 4.
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN
There is a small chance of infection carried by pregnant sheep being transferred to pregnant women. Although the risk is very low, medical advice is that pregnant women should not have contact with sheep during the lambing season
If you expecting a baby, please do not visit our lambing open day.
For more info, go to the Borough Farm website.
Borough Farm is the home of David Kennard and Channel 5’s star of “Sheepdog Tales” Mist.
Not much more than a year into its life, the West of Exmoor Camera Club finally got around to its first field trip to Exmoor Zoo. I feel it won’t be the last.
After dreary, light-free shoots at Lynton and Arlington Court earlier in the year, the sun finally came out of hiding briefly above the wildlife haven that is the Exmoor Zoological Park. Its a bijou zoo, small but perfectly formed, with large pond (or small lake depending on how well travelled you are) in the middle, with a wonderful selection of wildfowl, ranging from Mandarin Ducks through penguins to Pelicans and all shades between, swimming on it, and crashing into it. The photographic opportunities were endless, with good viewing areas and obligingly nonchalant avians.
We also found Big cats, many monkeys, wonderful wolves and something that made an incredible racket, but was never quite identified. There were seemingly dozens of enclosures, and mums and dads with progeny present, were having a great time. The animals were well cared for and unstressed and I liked that. Some were only too happy to pose, whilst a surly minority were a bit sniffy and disdained the hapless photographer, brazenly displaying the wrong end to us. Can’t say I blame them.
We came away with some great images having enjoyed the day, the coffee and cake and the refreshingly positive attitude of any zoo staff that we encountered. Even the Zoo loos were up to scratch.
Pictures from the day can be seen online on our club website at www.westexmoorcameraclub.weebly.com and anyone reading this that is desperate to see more of our handiwork on paper as it were, can do so throughout the stairwells, top to bottom, of the North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple from:- (Thursday 22nd March – 30th June 2013 ). Go on, you know you want to….
And what the hell was it that was making all that racket?!
West of Exmoor Camera Club. Author. RB
Film by Marc Lubetzki who followed an Exmoor stallion and his herd on top of Porlock Hill.
EXMOOR Zoo at Bratton Fleming is a special place that enables visitors to get up close and personal!
It is an ideal family venue, especially for the kids, and it is always changing, so no repeat visit is ever the same.
The Gold award-winning zoo in the rolling valleys of North Devon is home to more than 175 species of birds and animals.
See cheetah, puma, maned wolves, sitatunga and the famous “Exmoor Beast” black panthers, together with unique and rare smaller animals for which the zoo provides natural enclosures. Carefully planted shrubs and trees along the winding zoo paths keep visitors wondering what is next, providing a relaxing and natural atmosphere.
Exmoor Zoo is different, neither a wildlife park nor a city zoo, but a more friendly and contact-orientated zoo that has grown into the North Devon countryside. Visitors get to meet the animals, join in the handling sessions, touch a snake, hold a spider, feed a wallaby and learn about the animals during talks and feed times. There are even some ‘free range’ animals to encounter on your way around the grounds.
Spring and summer bring many baby animals and the chance to meet and stroke some of the new arrivals.
Exmoor Zoo took over what had formerly been the Bird Gardens in 1993. Danny and Lynn Reynolds and the family have since renovated existing enclosures and built new exhibits of mammals, birds and reptiles on a year to year basis.
From one member of staff and 10,000 visitors, it has grown consistently. Today just under 50,000 people visit annually, enjoying the friendly, relaxed and natural atmosphere of the zoo. Fourteen staff, a head keeper and an education officer all endeavour to instil the importance of looking after the environment and respect for the habitat of native and exotic animals. There are now more than 35 breeding programmes to maintain the captive population of endangered species. This breeding and encouraging respect for the animals is a very important part of the work.
After a stroll around the zoo and a visit to the reptile house and souvenir sales area, the African Café provides relaxed seating and welcome refreshment for more than 75 diners, or there is a picnic area and children’s playground for those who prefer.
Exmoor Zoological Park, South Stowford, Bratton Fleming, Barnstaple, North Devon. EX31 4SG.
Website: www.exmoorzoo.co.uk
Email: info@exmoorzoo.co.uk
Telephone: 01598 763352
Twitter: @ExmoorZoo
Facebook: Click here
These photos were kindly provided by Experience Exmoor.
To find out more about the feral goats in the Valley of the Rocks, please have a look at www.lyntongoats.org.uk
Exmoor 4 all 
