Crossword clues for exmoor
exmoor
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Exmoor \Ex"moor\, n. [From Exmoor, a district in Somersetshire and Devonshire.]
One of a breed of horned sheep of Devonshire, England, having white legs and face and black nostrils. They are esp. valuable for mutton.
A breed of ponies native to the Exmoor district.
Wikipedia
Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath. Exmoor is more precisely defined as the area of the former ancient royal hunting forest, also called Exmoor, which was officially surveyed 1815–1818 as in extent. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and of the Bristol Channel coast. The total area of the Exmoor National Park is , of which 71% is in Somerset and 29% in Devon.
The upland area is underlain by sedimentary rocks dating from the Devonian and early Carboniferous periods with Triassic and Jurassic age rocks on lower slopes. Where these reach the coast cliffs are formed which are cut with ravines and waterfalls. It was recognised as a heritage coast in 1991. The highest point on Exmoor is Dunkery Beacon; at it is also the highest point in Somerset. The terrain supports lowland heath communities, Ancient woodland and blanket mire which provide a habitat for some scarce flora and fauna. There have also been reports of The Beast of Exmoor, a cryptozoological cat roaming Exmoor. Several areas have been designated as Nature Conservation Review and Geological Conservation Review sites.
There is evidence of human occupation from the Mesolithic. This developed for agriculture and extraction of mineral ores into the bronze and Iron Ages. The remains of standing stones, cairns and bridges can still be identified. The royal forest was granted a charter in the 13th century, however foresters who managed the area were identified in the Domesday Book. In the Middle Ages sheep farming was common with a system of agistment licensing the grazing of livestock as the Inclosure Acts divided up the land. The area is now used for a range of recreational purposes.
Usage examples of "exmoor".
By the side of the rivers of Exmoor there grows a great leaf, so large it almost calls to mind those tropical leaves of which umbrellas and even tents are made.
At Selworthy a footpath leads up through a wood on Selworthy Hill, and as it ascends, always at the side of the slope, gradually opens out what is perhaps the finest view of Dunkery Beacon, the Dunkery range, and that edge of Exmoor on to the shore of the sea.
Across the deep vale the Exmoor mountains rise and reach on either hand, immense breadths of dark heather, deep coombes filled with black shadow, and rounded masses that look dry and heated.
Evening had come early over Exmoor, dark clouds roiling up from the Bristol Channel to blanket the moors.
He had tried to indicate to her how extraordinarily lucky she had been, but Eleanor, who disapproved of blood-sports and had yet to learn of their importance in the economics of Exmoor, took her good fortune very much for granted.
It was a tea worth waiting for, in the true Exmoor tradition, with farmhouse scones, heather honey in the comb and clotted cream.
It was the kind of scene that was part and parcel of his Exmoor memories.
He waited, himself, until the proceedings had been formally adjourned and then went out with the rest into the soft, damp Exmoor afternoon.
Markhampton who comes from Exmoor and takes in the local paper regularly.
Devon, but not far beyond, on the way to Exmoor, is Brendon, our name place.
Sir Ensor, a wild rebellious son of an Earl of Moray, who travelled with his wife to Exmoor, and settled there, in a rage because the king would give him no redress against his elder brother.
He loved the eighteen-year-old with all his heart, but her own parents had died in Exmoor eight years ago.
He would never forget the horror of Exmoor, but this was where life started again.
A boat trip navigating the River Dart, a bus tour of Exmoor, joy trips in a biplane.
Behind them were the poachers and huntsmen of Porlock Quay, who had left the red deer of Exmoor to graze in peace whilst they followed a nobler quarry.