i86 THE COMPLETE FOXHUNTER 



the Midlands. From Exeter the East and Mid-Devon 

 are accessible ; from Torquay and Totnes the South 

 Devon and Dartmoor ; from Tiverton the pack which 

 takes its name from the town ; and from Lynton, 

 Lynmouth, and Ilfracombe the Exmoor. Even now 

 the list is nothing like exhausted, but from the stran- 

 ger's point of view hunting in Devonshire generally 

 means hunting with the staghounds, which are located 

 in the extreme north of the country, and hunt as much 

 in West Somerset as they do in Devon. 



All through the staghunting district the stranger 

 comes in hundreds, chiefly in August and September, 

 and in smaller numbers in the spring. Dunster, 

 Minehead, Porlock, Porlock Weir, Lynton, Lyn- 

 mouth, Ilfracombe, Exford, and Dulverton are all 

 prepared to furnish quarters for horses and their riders ; 

 and though Exford is much the most central for the 

 operations of the Devon and Somerset staghounds, it 

 is a somewhat dull spot on non-hunting days, whereas 

 the seaside towns allow of a more varied life. Those 

 who go westward in the late summer, and who are 

 paying a first visit, should go prepared for long jour- 

 neys to the meets, long hunts which often come late in 

 the afternoon, and long rides home after dark. Of 

 course no one is bound to exert himself by these long 

 journeys, but any one who goes to Exmoor and intends 

 to hunt thoroughly, and not merely to look on at the 

 tufting, should be in fair condition, and able to stand 

 some eight or ten hours of saddle-work on occasions. 

 It is not every day that is a long and hard one, but the 

 country is a wide one, and hounds may easily meet 

 twenty miles or more from the place where one is stay- 

 ing. The meet may be a good one, and the weather 

 conditions favourable, and so an effort is made and 



