Exmoor National Park is a national park situated on the Bristol Channel coast of South West England. 71% of the National Park is located within the county of Somerset and the remaining 29% is in Devon. The park, which includes the Brendon Hills and the Vale of Porlock, covers 267 square miles (692 km2) of hilly open moorland and 34 miles (55 km) of coast. It is primarily an upland area with a dispersed population living mainly in small villages and hamlets. The three largest settlements are Lynton and Lynmouth, Porlock and Dulverton, which together contain almost 40% of the National Park population.
Prior to being a park, Exmoor was a Royal Forest and hunting ground, which was sold off in 1818. Exmoor was one of the first British National Parks, designated in 1954, under the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, and is named after its main river, the River Exe. Several areas of the moor, including the Coastal Heaths, North Exmoor, South Exmoor and Chains, have been declared a Site of Special Scientific interest due to the flora and fauna. In 1993 Exmoor was designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area. (Full article...)