This is fun road, as you can see in my video below. It’s about 11 miles, with some fantastic scenery and a great variety of bends. Just watch out for wildlife! You can also carry on the A39 the far side of Lyton for another 17 miles towards Barnstaple, which is also well worth it.
1 Like
Drove this road on a short hol a few years ago, in my then daily Pug 406 HDI.
Porlock Hill very steep.
Had to have a 15 minute rest at the top for the car to recover,
and let the cooling system depressurise.
1 Like
Haha! I was in my wife’s 1.0-litre Fiesta and you can hear it struggling in the video. I think I changed into first gear at one point…
1 Like
I did that trip the other way round (actually Barnstaple to Porlock) late last year. Great drive but the weather was atrocious. I intend to go back this autumn
1 Like
The tight bend on Porlock hill is best taken sideways, with your right foot in the carpet. Not that I would suggest such expressive driving!
The road avoiding Porlock hill has got some great views, just don’t go that way behind a caravan. also coming out of Lynmouth, try turning right to Lynton and on to what we call the Valley of rocks. Nice cafe and some loverly single track roads to be found.
1 Like
A few years back we were heading up Porlock hill. Got just round the bend and became stuck behind a mini metro trying to tow a caravan up the hill. The inevitable happened and the car stopped. We then all had to help hold the caravan in place while they unhooked, turned the car around then turned the caravan and reconnected. Carried on our journey and the other end Lynmouth Hill going downwards we stumbled across a transit and trailer broken down going upwards. It had a Kubota on the trailer and a police car right behind trying to organise traffic. The owners decided the best thing to do was unload the kubota and drive it up the hill. Unfortunately when it came off the trailer the tracks did not grip because of the incline and it ploughed into the police car and pushed it partly through the stone wall. The policeman’s face was something i will never forget!
1 Like