Walk with small children or wheelchairs
1. Potters Walk 0.75 miles – DETAILS
Gazing across at Fernworthy Reservoir to Thornworthy Tor with the sun low in the sky and the gaggle of Canada Geese coasting nearby, there is no better place on Dartmoor or even in Devon than Potter’s walk for a gentle stroll or for exploring with young children!
The walk is just 0.75 miles and starts in the car park of Fernworthy Reservoir, which has disabled bays and public toilets. The route is mostly flat with no steps, gates or stiles. There are also well placed resting spots. There is also a picnic spot with benches, bird hides and brown trout fishing nearby; spectacular.
Longer walks
2. Moors & Tors 14 miles DETAILS & PDF
Walking on Dartmoor – The Heart of Devon is always magical…
“There is little pleasure to be gained from struggling along a contrived route across desolate and boggy hills just for the sake of wilderness,” wrote Ken. Instead, he pieced together a circular hike we shall follow called the ‘The Moors and Tors of Eastern Dartmoor’. It combines wilderness (without ever straying too far from public roads) and the spellbinding symmetry of Eastern Dartmoor’s tors, which by late autumn exude a rich tapestry of moorland colours.
3. Two Bridges to Wistmans Wood, Bellever Tor & back 10 miles – ROUTE DETAILS
The walking route to Wistman’s Wood is easy to follow, it leads north from the small car park; just follow the footpath fingerpost. You’ll pass by a small farmstead and then you’ll quickly be on open moorland as you walk towards Littaford Tors in the distance.
The West Dart River, surely one of Devon’s loveliest rivers…flows in the valley to your left as you walk north, the water catching the early autumn sunlight, a bright sparkle amongst the dark tones of the moor. Every season has colour on Dartmoor; even the darkest days reveal a certain glistening charm, a natural glint that catches the eye.
After a pleasant walk north of just over 2 kilometres the stunted oaks of Wistman’s Wood could be seen, clinging to the valley side and not soaring into the sky as we would normally expect from statuesque grand oaks.
Some of the trees are over 400 years old, forming part of what was once a vast forest, thousands of years in the making. Tin mining and industry saw a great clearing away of Dartmoor’s forests. Wistman’s Wood fortunately survived that man-made forest clearing.
4. Teigns and Turrets 7.5 miles – DETAILS & PDF
River Teign, Chagford to Fingle Bridge and Castle Drogo, all set in the most stunning Devon countryside.
The Teign is Dartmoor’s most iconic river. From a bleak moorland spring, it meanders some 50km to the South Devon coast at Teignmouth. This four-hour walk in its upper valley takes in wondrous views and the glorious vision of a certain Mr. Drewe.
LENGTH: 12km (7.5 miles)
TIME: 3-4 hrs.
START/FINISH: Chagford Square
SUITABLE FOR: Moderately fit
MAP: OS Explorer OL28
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Service 173 from Exeter Bus Station
PARKING: Chagford car park near Jubilee Hall (GR702874)
5. Best Five Woodlands to Explore – DETAILS & PDF
Do you have a favourite wild place in Devon? Where the view stirs the imagination or where the squeaks, rustles and smells give you hints about what’s going on around you? Maybe the atmosphere relaxes your mind. These places might draw you back again and again. I have many of these special spots around Dartmoor and, depending on my mood, I might want to be on top of a granite tor, facing into the wind and staring out to the distant coast, or perhaps I’ll sit by a moorland stream. The therapeutic sounds of the tumbling water soothe me as the sun makes rainbows where the droplets bounce off boulders. I peer into the brown depths to look for trout but get distracted by life in miniature; insects skating on the surface or dazzling neon dragonflies, damsels, chasers and darters. I like to take my insect identification book in my pack wherever I go.