Red Stag Safari

Red Stag Safari We are the original Land Rover Discovery Safari. Come and enjoy an Exmoor Safari in our vehicle whic
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Exford Show Champions
12/08/2026

Exford Show Champions

Photos from a visit to Porlock Marsh last month. First two had to be lightened a bit but pretty much as they were and th...
08/08/2026

Photos from a visit to Porlock Marsh last month. First two had to be lightened a bit but pretty much as they were and the others all as took on a long exposure.

It took me a long time but I managed to get up close to this young wild Exmoor stag in the week. He was lied up under a...
07/08/2026

It took me a long time but I managed to get up close to this young wild Exmoor stag in the week. He was lied up under a tree in one of the few places where there was shade on the moor. He was in dappled shade while I was in the open and the sun kept going in behind cloud which made it very difficult to get the right exposure. Had to do some minor adjustments to some of the images as a result. Probably about 3 years old and in velvet and looks to be in good condition.

Wild Exmoor stags in velvet on the forest over the last few days.
31/07/2026

Wild Exmoor stags in velvet on the forest over the last few days.

Autumn stag on the Exmoor forest,
24/07/2026

Autumn stag on the Exmoor forest,

Common Toad in the garden.
06/06/2026

Common Toad in the garden.

A few images taken in the recent hot spell. Exmoor Large Red Damsels and Large Bodied Chasers. Fascinating time spent...
05/06/2026

A few images taken in the recent hot spell. Exmoor Large Red Damsels and Large Bodied Chasers. Fascinating time spent watching these. The damsels form this heart shape when mating as the female curls around to take s***m form the male. To enable this to happen the male has to grab her around the neck while she dangles below him. Not tried that method of courtship myself but it seems to work for them. Not very PC or romantic and all a bit of an effort. You would have thought nature would have evolved a slightly easier way by now. The Chasers are manic and as their name implies spend much of their time chasing each other around. The males are blue and the females a brown or gold colour. These guys mate on the wing and the female then immediately goes to the water to lay her eggs. Very difficult to get close to and photograph.

09/05/2026

Some footage of the Hobby Horses this May. A great tradition and long may it continue. For a bit more info about it look back at my post in May 2024.

South Hill races near Dulverton are this Sunday 3rd May. A great day out for all the family. Horse racing began when h...
30/04/2026

South Hill races near Dulverton are this Sunday 3rd May. A great day out for all the family. Horse racing began when hunting folk started to race their horses against each other and often that was from Church Steeple in one village to the Church Steeple in the next hence the name steeple chasing. The amateur point to point racing is organised by the hunts with their supporters running the day as volunteers. If people had to be paid then the races would not be viable and that is why if hunting is banned then point to pointing with go as well. It would be a disaster if that happened as these races are part of the culture of rural Exmoor and also much of rural Britain. They are great fun and provide a tranning ground for young horses and jockeys on their way to National Hunt racing and are also a place for older national hunt horses to finish their racing days. Racing employs thousands of people and is a multi million pound industry yet the looney left are still trying to get it banned. The best way to stop that is to go along and support.
Many of us Exmoor folk were thrown on a pony as a young child and sent off hunting. We learned to ride well following hounds over the rugged Exmoor terrain and develop a good seat ( although not always pretty ) and gained a deep understanding of horses and there is nothing else that I know of that teaches you that well. I think this is why Ireland is so strong in racing with numerous top quality horses, jockeys, trainners ,grooms etc many whom have no doubt developed their skills in the hunting field.
Photos included are of South Hill in previous years plus one of Holnicote in ancient times, the first year on the new course and only time they went anticlockwise which was just as well as my horse only went that way. He hunted at least once a week every week all day, often hacking home with Master Sid and Margaret driving behind with the lights on so we could see where we were going. That got him very fit and toughened him up. Hunting helps make good horses. After one huge leap over a large fence in the members race we went so far left handed we ended up in the infield turnips but hung on to recover several lengths and get second. Them were the days.

I was watching a couple of stags recently and one had cast while the other still had at least one horn but he was sidewa...
26/04/2026

I was watching a couple of stags recently and one had cast while the other still had at least one horn but he was sideways on so I couldnt see if he still had a pair. I then looked away for about a minute and then looked back to see both stags were without. They were on access ground so I went to have a look and found one of the cast horns. I dont normally look for stags horns as I dont have the patience for that sort of thing but there are a number of people who do. We have several horse shows on Exmoor in the summer and a few of these shows have stags horn competitions as well. These usually have classes for the best single horn found in the current year and then a class for the best pair. These classes are then repeated as open classes for previous years. Horns have to be naturally cast so you cant go out and shoot a big stag and saw off his horns. There is then a class for the most unusual which are normally cases where the horn has been damaged while growing and then formed an unusual shape. Sometimes though they just grow in a strange way for no apparent reason. These shows are great places to view some of the best horns found on Exmoor and good places to speak to proper Exmoor people who have grown up with the deer and have a great knowledge of them and the general public can learn about the deer and the culture around them on Exmoor from those people who really know and understand them. You can learn about how the horns are cast in march and april and which stags cast first, you can learn how the new horns grow in about 4 months during the velvet stage when they are covered in a skin full of blood vessels and hear about how the horns are described by the local people and the terminology used. Each point or tine has a name and the shape and form and number of points varies with age. When you understand how they grow and change with the passing years you can put a particular stag / horn into an age bracket to help age the deer. You cant age precisely but you can put them into the growing years, prime years and older years when they are said to be going back as the points become less. Those with the real knowledge on the subject and the deer generally are the locals not those in the National Park or National Trust or the Government. These are organisations full of the politically correct who we would describe as no norts on Exmoor but it is a shame that these no norts dont listen to those with the knowledge when formulating policy on deer management.
Shows with these competitions include Exford show, Porlock show and Hawkridge show. Unfortunately my find is not of show standard. First photo is showing how I found it and the others are of Exford show in previous years.

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Cutcombe
Minehead
TA247AW

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