THE highest coastal road tea room in Britain will be opened on Exmoor next week in ‘a dream come true’ for husband and wife team Jessica and Antony Chipperfield.

The couple, who live in Porlock, have taken a lease from the National Trust on the grade two listed County Gate building.

An old toll cottage, it sits in a popular beauty spot on the Somerset-Devon border directly above the famous Malmsmead, Oare, and Doone Valley. 

Mr and Mrs Chipperfield recently moved to Porlock after a number of years living in a farmhouse they restored in the Dordogne, in southern France.

Mrs Chipperfield said: “We have strong connections to the Exmoor area and have resided here in years past.

“We have many friends in the area also. 

“Antony is a musician and it was this which took us overseas.

“We toured as a family with our young daughter in a large motor home.

“Antony played many concerts, recorded in some renowned studios, and also busked many a market place in Europe.

“We have certainly met some interesting, wonderful, and some well-known, artists, too. Some of whom Antony had the pleasure of working with.

“After the pandemic, and even though our little French dream was certainly paradise, we realised that we missed Exmoor, and on our return we reignited our interest in the little toll cottage at County Gate.

“We had previously inquired about it years before, but to no avail.

“I had always dreamed that we would take it on and turn it into a tea room.

“It has been an interesting journey, and we have dedicated many hours to this venture over the past 11 months.”

Now, the dream will come true on Good Friday when The Ramblers Rest is officially opened for business in what the couple hope in time will become an iconic destination.

The tea room will be open year-round to take advantage of the South West Coast Path, longest coast path in the world, running past it and an official stop for the hourly Exmoor Coaster open top tour bus which runs hourly between Porlock and Lynmouth, whose passengers will be entitled to a discount on menu prices.

The couple have employed a chef who is a trained pâtisserie, and his wife, and plan to offer a ‘simplistic’ menu featuring home-made cakes, freshly-made sandwiches, and local ice creams, and there will also be a small gift shop selling souvenirs, local produce, and local artisan wares.

Mrs Chipperfield said the National Trust had ‘been amazing’ in renovating and restoring the building and would officially hand it over at the weekend.