The countryside that inspired R.D. Blackmoore's
classic novel "Lorna Doone"
The Doone Valley
The area centred around Badgworthy Water is famed as home of the legendary Doones, a family of seventeenth-century outlaws. Legend placed the Doones in the deserted medieval settlement in Hoccombe Combe, a tributary of Badgworthy. The valley of Blackmore's famous novel Lorna Doone, however, more closely resembled Lank Combe, another tributary.
Signpost Doone Valley
image supplied by kind permission of Somerset Tourism, Somerset County Council
A visit to both combes requires a 5-mile (8km) walk from Malmsmead. Badgworthy Water marks the boundary between Devon and Somerset and runs through beautiful heathland and an ancient woodland of crooked oaks. There is a car park, toilets and natural history centre at Malmsmead, and teas are available in season at Malmsmead or Cloud Farm. One mile along a riverside walk from Malmsmead is the tiny church at Oare where Lorna Doone married Jan Ridd, the hero of the novel.
Cream tea in the Doone Valley
image supplied by kind permission of Somerset Tourism, Somerset County Council
Doone Valley
image supplied by kind permission of Somerset Tourism, Somerset County Council
The Doone Valley
image supplied by kind permission of Somerset Tourism, Somerset County Council
OS Grid Reference: SS7944 |
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