An excellent source of places to visit when your are in an unfamiliar country like Devon is the National trust days out guide.   The weather was improving and today I decided to visit the Heddon Valley within the Exmoor national park.

Along the Heddon River

The only concern with the national trust car parks is when they open.  I not arrive as early as I would have preferred.  The pay and display were not working so headed down the valley along the riverside to Heddon’s mouth.

The river was quite fast flowing and would make a good subject for a long exposure to get some motion blur on the water.  It was naturally darker under the canopy of the trees.  But needed to drop down to F/16 with a polariser to get desired motion blur.

Compositions were presenting themselves all along the river bank as I made my way down to the sea and Heddon’s mouth.  The sun was struggling to stay out but made a change from all the wind and rain I had mostly experienced so far on this road trip into Devon.

Heddon’s Mouth

Reaching Heddon’s mouth and the sun was shining directly behind me low in the sky between the high hills of the valley.  It was difficult to get a seascape photo without including myself or the tripod and cameras shadow.

Why I not choose to do a long exposure with a neutral density filter, I am not clear.  The mouth is a quiet peaceful place, I was the only one there this bright winters morning.  There is a place you can shelter from the cold bitter wind.

Heading back to the carpark there is a nice pub with a real fire to relax called the Hunters Inn.  It include accommodation and would be a good base to stay a few days.  The coast along Exmoor is fabulous, nooks, coves and crannies all along.  Here are some random shots I took around Exmoor on my mobile phone.