Pictures of Parracombe

About Parracombe

Beautifully set, a short distance inland from Martinhoe, on the western edge of the glorious Exmoor forest, is the delightful village of Parracombe. This little village can proudly boast the patronage of John Ruskin, the renowned art critic, who in the mid-19th-century led a national protest to save the village's unique medieval church of St.Petrock. When a new church was built St.Petrocks came under threat but the protest efforts won the day. St.Petrock's is a lovely old church that somehow, in spite of the changing fashions of church design throughout the centuries, has remained unchanged and is if anything, quite wonderous in it's stark simplicity.

This is a spacious village that has a mix-match of picturesque properties. Old stone cottages are interspersed along the valley that leads to the village, and in narrow lane that skirts round towards the church, houses and cottages tumble against each other as if for support. The River Heddon flows peacefully through the village, in summer this river is not much more than a trickle but in winter, when storms lash the moors, this gentle waterway quickly turns, to become a raging monster. A pleasant inn can be found in the village. There are several picnic spots to be found just outside Parracombe.

Wistlandpound Reservoir is closeby, so too, is Exmoor Zoological Park and the NT property Arlington Court.