What’s going for it? On a family holiday in Lynton and Lynmouth in the 1970s, the brakes went on the car. As anyone who has visited Lynton and Lynmouth will know this is not the best spot on planet Earth for one’s brakes to go. It is jolly hilly, dangling off a cleft in the Exmoor cliffs. Images of the family clinging on to the banger are gouged deep in my memory. I should probably see a counsellor. Still, it’s in keeping with the place. This is a dramatic landscape, all vertiginous drops and corniche drives along cliff tops. That’s why the Georgians and Victorians made this one of their favourite resorts, scattering villas and periwinkles picturesquely across the valley to get their hearts racing; Shelley came here for his honeymoon. Drama tipped over into disaster in 1952, when a thunderstorm broke over the area, destroying buildings, bridges and killing 34 people – though living life on the edge has bred a certain stout resolve and self-reliance in Lynton and Lynmouth. It’s a rollercoaster ride, but the thrills are worth it.
The case against Stout legs required. And keep the brake fluid topped up. The hills do loom when the sun behind you is low in the southern sky. Bit of a tourist honeypot. Still relatively isolated.
Well connected? Trains: the nearest is in Barnstaple, a half-hour drive away, with hourly trains on the Tarka line to Exeter (66-82 mins). Driving: Ilfracombe is the nearest big town, half an hour away. The M5 is an hour and a quarter away on a good day.
Schools Primaries: both Lynton C of E and nearby Parracombe C of E require “improvement”, says Ofsted, though they are “taking effective action”. Secondaries: ditto the nearest secondary, Ilfracombe Academy, also “taking effective action”, though Pilton Community College and Park Community in Barnstaple are both “good”.
Hang out at… The Rising Sun in Lynmouth is your archetypical thatched, whitewashed Exmoor pub.
Where to buy Stone-fronted or rendered, balconied Victorian gothic terraces, semis and detached villas. Plus the odd Exmoor farmhouse and whitewashed fishermen’s cottage. Large detacheds and town houses, £350,000-£800,000. Detacheds, £200,000-£350,000. Semis, £200,000-£400,000. Terraces and cottages, £175,000-£275,000. Flats, £110,000-£225,000. Rentals: few; a two-bed house, £450-£650 pcm.
Bargain of the week Want a challenge? Ten-bedroom Victorian detached villa in Lynton, £695,000. With stags.co.uk.
From the streets
Jeanette Moorcroft “Scary cliffside car ride around Woody Bay and the Woody Bay train line, which kids love.”
Lois Phelps “Some amazing sandy beaches a short drive from Lynmouth. Putsborough beach and Croyde are a surfers’ paradise or head for Braunton Burrows, huge sand dunes.”
Live in Lynton and Lynmouth? Join the debate below.
• Do you live in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire? Do you have a favourite haunt or a pet hate? If so, email lets.move@theguardian.com by Tuesday 14 June.
