CORNWALL, DEVON, DORSET, SOMERSET, BATH & BRISTOL HOSTELS

• Dorset & Somerset Pleasant & fascinating stretches of coast, quaint towns & villages, feast of geology & history, and cider
• W Somerset & N Devon Quantock and Brendon hills with fine ridge walks, Exmoor National Park for moorland hikes, sea cliffs, fishing villages & coastal paths.
• DartmoorBleak moorland with rocky outcrops, for bracing walks with widespread views.
• Devon & Cornwall Pretty coastal villages, friendly towns, great beaches, superb cliff paths, wild moorland.
• BATH Roman baths, outstanding buildings, tours to Stonehenge.
• BRISTOL Large interesting city
• NEWQUAY Surfing, lots of hostels

SOUTHWEST ENGLAND

Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall are generally known as 'The West Country'. This peninsula has some glorious scenery including pretty coastal villages and towns, beaches, superb cliff paths and large areas of wild moorland. The region also has the warmest and sunniest weather all year round, although spells of heavy rain lasting many hours are always possible.

The trouble is, most people in Britain know all this, and in summer the area is choc-a-bloc with English and Scots families on their fortnight's holiday.

Coastal Paths

The Cornish coastal path has magnificent scenery throughout, with plenty of hostels and B&B's. Alternatively you could choose the North Devon coastal path between Barnstaple and Minehead. Indeed a coastal path runs for some 900 km around the peninsula.

Transport

Trains run frequently from London, taking about 2.5 hours to Exeter and a further 3 hours to Penzance. There are then several branch lines which give access to some good centres or starting points. If you have a rail pass you can explore most of these routes, and there are several convenient hostels. There are good bus services extending radially from the main centres to most towns, but if you want to tour the area by bus, check the timetables carefully first.

You can also get to Exeter easily by train from Bristol or Birmingham.

National Express coach services to the area are good. From London they run to Exeter (4.5 hours) and Torquay (5 hours) 6 times in the day plus an evening and a night service. There are 4 coaches per day to Penzance (8 hours), 4 a day plus one at night to Plymouth (5 hours) and at least one a day direct from London to most other centres. What's more, you can pick these up directly at Heathrow airport.

If you are renting a car, the roads to the area are good, but very busy on summer weekends. Use the car to get to the area, then be sparing with it, as the coastal roads can get jammed and parking is very very limited in the tiny coastal villages.

If you have 5 days or more to spare, get to any of the Cornish coastal villages then walk a section of the coastal path.

Hostels

There are plenty of hostels throughout the area. Many of the YHA hostels are closed in winter, but there is an increasing number of independent hostels and these are open all year, and there are numerous low-cost bunkhouses especially in Dartmoor.

DORSET AND SOMERSET

Bournemouth

is an impressively clean and well-maintained resort and conference town with cliffs, fine beaches both crowded and quiet, and a relaxing atmosphere. Frequent trains from London. Stay at

Swanage

is a family resort with good beaches including a clothing-optional beach at nearby Studland, and some good coastal walks.

Lulworth

A most interesting bit of coast with cliff formations is Lulworth Cove.

Take the train to Weymouth then a short bus ride (frequent) gets you to the Isle of Portland with cliffs and views.

In a pleasant secluded bit of country is Litton Cheney (buses until late evening then a mile walk). A two-mile walk from the hostel gets you a view over Chesil Beach, an impressive natural pebble beach 15 miles long with a gentle curve.

GLASTONBURY

is a unique town. One shop is called 'Man, Myth & Magik', and more than half the shops have the themes of crystals, yoga, eastern medicine, therapies and astrology. Half the population seem to be new- age or hippie from young to old. But even if this is not your scene, you will enjoy exploring the town which is steeped in history and legend, not forgetting the large music festival that takes place, though not every year, in June. It has no railway, and is best reached from Bristol (hourly buses) or by one bus a day from London, Heathrow Airport or Liverpool. There is a comfortable hostel right in the centre.

Three miles away near Street is a small self-catering hostel, in pleasant country on a ridge with views and good walks, but not close to shops (hourly buses then short walk):

Cheddar Gorge

is impressive and has good walking on the adjacent Mendip Hills. Stay at

WEST SOMERSET AND NORTH DEVON

This area starts with the modest Quantock and Brendon hills (with some fine ridge walks along good paths with excellent views).

If you approach from Bridgwater, take the bus to Minehead (4 in daytime plus 3 in evening). To walk on the Quantock Hills (fine ridge walks with open views) stay at

From London there are frequent trains to Taunton, then take a bus towards Minehead (hourly daytime, and until late evening). Minehead is a seaside town at the foot of Exmoor. There are two hostels, the YHA 2 miles prior to the town, and a Backpackers close to the centre:

Minehead is a good base to start a hiking tour over Exmoor, a National Park. There are fine moorland hikes with spacious views, with small valleys nestling among the hills. In one of these is Exford.

Or you may walk the coastal path, with a hostel at

Buses within the area are scarce, and nil on Sundays, so if you want to augment your tour with buses, check full details first.

ILFRACOMBE is a quaint town with a fishing harbour, which offers

surfing and many strenuous outdoor activities, coastal and moorland hiking, and trips to Lundy Island featuring birds, seals & dolphins.

There are frequent buses from Ilfracombe to Barnstaple, from which there are several trains per day until late evening to Exeter.

DARTMOOR

This is a large, circular area of bleak moorland grazed by wild ponies, with scattered rocky outcrops. It is great for bracing walks with widespread views in all directions. But if the mist closes in, and it can do so for several days, then the atmosphere is quite different and you can very easily get lost. There are numerous hostels and bunkhouses in and around the fringe of the park, all with immediate access to fine walking country.

Heart of the Park

Bellever, Princetown & Postbridge have 2 buses a day (not Sun) from Tavistock, and 3 a day (inc Sun) from Plymouth or Exeter:

Edge of the Park

On the northern edge, Okehampton is a pleasant town with good transport and easy access to the Moor:

Moretonhampstead on the east edge of Dartmoor is a small town (2- hourly buses from Exeter incl Sun) with an eco-friendly hostel:

Widecombe is a village on the east side of the Moor. Buses run there in summer from Newton Abbot. A 2 km walk gets you to:

Just outside Dartmoor

In pleasant country just outside Dartmoor, is Dunsford (2-hourly buses from Exeter). Its YHA hostel at Steps Bridge is now closed, but may reopen as a YHA affiliated hostel.

DEVON AND CORNWALL

These counties are the star attractions of southern England with pretty coastal villages, friendly towns, great beaches with swimming and some with surfing, superb cliff paths, large areas of wild moorland and, in between, rolling country with rich red soil, fields and woods. The scenery improves the farther southwest you go. The price you pay is that they are quite a long way from anywhere, so plan for at least two full days in the area.

The coast is threaded with lots of fishing villages and small towns all approached separately by roads, some of them narrow and steep. In most areas you cannot drive directly between these places, which makes it all the pleasanter for walkers who can walk along the coast continuously for miles at a time.

We first look at towns accessible by train, for visitors who really have little time. Then we travel clockwise round the coast.

TOWNS

Exeter

The train from London first arrives at Exeter, an interesting city. There are frequent buses to the nearby coast at Exmouth and Dawlish. If you stay, there is a hostel in the heart of Exeter:

Get a bus 3 miles out of town, or take the pleasant riverside walk if your pack is light, to:

Back east along the coast is Beer (4 buses a day from Exeter or Weymouth) where you might want to stay just for the name:

Torquay

is one of England's prime resort areas, with a hostel (and in winter, hotels may be nearly as cheap):

Plymouth

has much historical and naval interest, but the centre was destroyed during World War II and the modern buildings are uninspiring. Ferries go from here to Roscoff in France and Santander in Spain.

Trains and coaches take you quickly down the peninsula, where several resorts await you.

FALMOUTH

is on a peninsula with a beautiful harbour and attractive shops and beaches. It has a new hostel:

Newquay

is the surfing capital of Britain and has several hostels. Hostel prices DOUBLE from winter to summer at most hostels!

Penzance

is as far southwest as you can get by train, and is a good base:

St Ives

is also a surfing area and a good base if you just have a night or two:

Okehampton

is a typical small town of the area, a convenient stop on the fast inland road, and a good place from which to make a brief visit to Dartmoor. Hostels ,

THE COAST

Most of the coast is good to fabulous, with a footpath along the whole length. All these hostels are convenient for the coastal path, and most are in spectacular locations. Starting in south Devon we have:

Next comes the city of Plymouth . After a section of coast without hostels, you come to a large hostel 2 miles inland, overlooking the Fowey estuary, at

The next hostel is quiet and well-situated near a beach:

FALMOUTH

Falmouth is on a peninsula with a beautiful harbour and attractive shops and beaches. It has a new hostel:

If you go down the Lizard Peninsula, you will come to the only hostel in UK where you can walk to a latitude in the 40s:

Next comes Penzance. From here you can take a bus (4 a day) to Lands End, or walk along the coastal path with more fine cliff scenery.

Within 2 miles of Lands End, and by a surfing beach (buses from Penzance):

Right by the coastal path and 4 miles from Lands End is:

Slightly inland in a sheltered valley is

At the small village of Zennor (occnl buses to St Ives) is

Next comes St Ives.

Next we come to a small hostel with spectacular coastal views:

Next comes

. Yet another hostel beautifully situated on the coast and 4 miles from Padstow is:

Yet another ideally-placed hostel, but not good to take a car to, is a small self-catering hostel:

Just 5 miles farther, more accessible is the hostel in former stables in the little port of Boscastle:

A new independent hostel has recently opened in the small town of Bude:

After a further 12 miles you find a hostel on a windy plateau overlooking the coast:

At Hartland, 4 miles from Elmscott, you can get a bus (4 a day, 2 on Sundays) to Barnstaple, then to

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Bath is a gem with many unique features: outstanding Roman remains including the bathhouse, a Postal Museum, and notable Georgian architecture including many long rows and crescents of attractive houses, extending over the hilly slopes. It's well worth a visit, but everything is expensive. You can take a tour to Stonehenge from here. If you want to stay, book a hostel in advance. Alternatively, you can get here for a day easily from Bristol, or even from London.

Transport

Frequent trains run from London, and there are frequent trains and buses from Bristol.

Hostels

Since Bath is so expensive, avoid restaurant meals here, buy from supermarkets and cook in the hostels. The Backpackers and YHA hostels both have good kitchens.

In the centre of Bath is the friendly off-beat Backpackers, and the comfortable and good-value YMCA.

The excellent YHA hostel is 1.5 km from the stations up a long hill, but is refreshing and peaceful. Buses run hourly until late.

Bristol is a major English city which has been highly active in commerce for many centuries. The term 'cash on the nail' refers to bargains struck on pillars in the trading area of Bristol. It is well worth a few hours of exploration for its many varied buildings of different ages, and some quaint narrow lanes.

Transport

Frequent trains run from London and Birmingham to Bristol. The Bristol rail station is called Temple Meads; do not get out at Bristol Parkway station, which is far from the city centre with poor transport.

Hostels

There are two hostels in the City Centre, close to everything.

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