This time of year makes me love woodland walks, enjoying the crisp leaves underfoot, and the beautiful autumnal colours in full swing, so last weekend we decided to make the most of this season and go for a walk on Dartmoor. I decided on Burrator Reservoir, mainly because we don’t tend to visit the reservoirs on Dartmoor, and also because it had some highly rated geocaches there! Parking by the reservoir was fairly easy as there are a few car parks in the area, but we joined the rest of the parked cars on the roadside by the dam itself. There were even some brave people enjoying an ice cream from the ice cream van by the bridge on this cold October day!

We parked next to the Reservoir Dam, with beautiful views over the bridge.

From here we walked along the bridge, taking in the beautiful views of the water and the hills and Tors behind it. Once we crossed the bridge and turned the corner on the left, we soon spotted a gate to pass which took us closer to the reservoir. From here we started to find our first geocaches, some here were very clever! We enjoyed ‘The Joy of Caching’ series for anyone who’s looking for a fun geocaching loop to do on Dartmoor.

Beautiful views of Burrator Reservoir and the moors behind it.

After spending some time looking for a clever geocache in the wooded area, we then decided to stop and have our picnic on a secluded spot by the water, it almost felt like a little beach! We were soon joined by some very friendly Canada Geese and ducks, our 1 year old daughter found it funny that they were interested in our lunch!

Views from where we found our first geocache.

After finishing our lunch we decided to continue the walk all the way round the reservoir, which took us a couple of hours as we walked at a leisurely pace and stopped a few times to find some geocaches. The whole walk was about 4.5 miles in total, but wasn't at all strenuous. The path is very clear and easy to follow, and there’s also signage at certain points which told us if we needed to walk on the road for a short while.

We stopped at one point to read an information sign about Longstone Manor, which was an old Manor house owned by the Elford family, long before the reservoir was built beside it. Now only the remains of the granite house are here, but there’s still a fair amount to see. However we decided not to take a detour to the peninsula, instead continuing on straight ahead, following the path which eventually led us onto the road for a short while. From here the walk continued on around to the left and over Norsworthy Bridge, where there were beautiful views of the water cascading down rocks and flowing towards the reservoir. We stopped for a moment to take a few photos of the area then continued around to the left where we passed another gate and rejoined the path beside the reservoir.

Along this path we soon arrived at a gate saying that we would be entering an off lead dog walking area; we took this route and were soon met with the reservoir on our left again, with gorgeous views of the Moors and Tors behind it. As we continued ahead we soon spotted the education centre nearby, where we rejoined the road for the rest of our walk around the reservoir. We were only a few minutes walk away from the dam where we started, but first we passed a beautiful waterfall on our right, which is quite a pleasant surprise when you’re not expecting to see it!

Burrator Reservoir is definitely worth a visit, its great for dogs, children and geocachers! It’s even more beautiful at this time of year, with different shades of orange and brown in the trees surrounding the water. Parking is ample and free on the roadside as well as car parks nearby on the main road down to the reservoir. I would advise wellies or walking boots for the walk and to give yourself a few hours if you are intending to walk round the whole reservoir, in order to really enjoy the walk at a leisurely stroll. We also came across plenty of friendly Dartmoor ponies by the roadside, and for those of you interested in the local wildlife the area has to offer, we also passed a (free) car park by the reservoir for Burrator Arboretum and Nature Reserve which we didn’t have time to visit but have added it to the list for next time! The walk round the reservoir would not be suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs, but the Arboretum has a new easy access trail built to ensure those in wheelchairs or families with pushchairs can enjoy the nature reserve too.