Woodbury Castle to Stowford Woods Circular

This walk starts at Woodbury Castle car park (what3words ///icon.insulated.product) on the Pebblebed Heaths. Parking is free, and there is additional parking across the road if needed. It’s a fairly easy going 3.5mile/5.6km walk which is very dog friendly. There are lots of places for dogs and children to play in streams and enjoy the nature and wildlife that the Pebblebed Heaths has to offer. Sturdy footwear is advised, but in the drier months it’s easily doable in trainers or walking sandals. There aren’t any toilets or cafes along the walk, but Clyst Coffee do park their coffee van up in either car park each week (check their social media to find out which days they are there).

The first set of steps leading to Woodbury Castle Fort

From the car park, take the path to the left, past the Woodbury Castle information sign and walk down (and then up!) the steps in front of you which leads to the old castle fort. From here, take the path to the right and continue on ahead until you spot some more steps over a small bank. Once over these steps, turn right and walk down along the leafy path signposted as the East Devon Way.

The leafy path that opens up onto the heaths

When the end of this path opens up onto the heathland, take the pebbled track to the left and enjoy the views of East Devon as you continue on ahead. On a clear day it’s easy to spot Peak Hill, Fire Beacon Hill, as well as the sea. I last did this walk in late August when the heather and gorse had really popped with colour. It was also very dry at the time, so the boardwalks you’ll soon walk over weren't necessary that day, but in the wetter months they’re definitely needed to safely cross without getting wet feet! Following this track you’ll soon go down a hill then past a large puddle, again in winter this is much more impressive. Listen out for goldcrests in the trees here, we saw a couple on the right hand side, very well camouflaged in the trees.

When you get to a hill, take the path to the right where you’re treated to more views of Peak Hill ahead of you now. Don’t forget to look up too, we saw house martins flying over, still here before making their impressive journey back to Africa soon. There were also plenty of stonechats flying around and landing on the gorse around us. We always hear them before we see them, making their iconic ‘stone scratching’ calls. When you arrive at a crossroads on the track, go straight ahead up the hill. Turn left at the end of the path then turn right, Keep a look out for blank bullet cartridges on the ground, used by the Royal Marines when training on the heaths, we usually find some on this walk. Soon you’ll get an option of a path to the left or straight on, here we turned left, spotting a meadow pipit foraging in the long grass as we walked down the hill.

A blank bullet found on the heaths from Royal Marine training

Up ahead you should spot the Royal Marine Grenade Range as you carry on straight ahead, then passing a sign warning you about the Military training site. We stopped at one point to have a look in the stream on the right where we spotted plenty of pond skaters and water boatmen. Turn left at the end of this path and walk up the hill towards some pine trees. When you spot an opening in the trees on the right, find a path amongst them and take this route through the woodland of tall trees and towering bracken. Listen out for birds in here, we heard lots of coal tits calling out to each other and a buzzard continuously calling for food from its parents. At the end of this path you’ll meet a gate, turn right down the track, where you’ll soon spot a wooden bridge over a stream. Walk over this bridge then immediately turn right, taking the path into the woods alongside the stream. Here we heard a green woodpecker as we walked up the small bank on the left and continued following the leafy path straight on until it opened up onto a pebbled track. Turn right over some wooden boards then take the path on the right up the hill, continue along this track, where soon you can choose to take a quick detour down an opening on your right, (opposite a bench). Here there is a great stream hidden away, great for dogs and children to play in. After this detour, continue back along the path following the blue arrow sign pointing at the track straight ahead.

The stream we found water boatmen and pondskaters in

When you spot a small opening in the woods on your right, take this path between ferns and very old trees with roots wrapped around their trunks. The stream will once again be on your right now as you walk through this woodland. The path will become a little more uneven with tree roots underfoot, so be careful as you navigate along this route. Follow the path around, walking over branches on the ground used to help cross in wet, muddy weather. Look out for fungi as you turn another corner and walk between trees which then opens up again onto a pebbled track. Leaving the woods behind, turn right and walk up this pebbled track where you’ll pass a ‘pool’ on your right, a popular swimming spot for dogs. We heard long-tailed tits in this area as we continued on ahead, ignoring any paths that branch off of this main track.

The bridge crossing a stream at Stowford

Take a detour down to the stream amongst the trees

You might be able to spot the path we took earlier, on the right hand side of the heather and gorse where the grenade range is. This is a steady track you’re now walking, back to Woodbury Castle Fort, (the trees up ahead surround the fort). When you get a choice of paths to take by a blue arrow post, turn left and continue along this path, ignoring any paths on your right unless you want to walk back through the fort again. We’re taking the track around the outside of the hill fort where soon you’ll complete the walk, ending back at the car park we started in. If you liked this walk, keep an eye out on my instagram page for more walks going up soon in this area.

Nearing the end of the walk, looking back on the path we walked

Jonathon Cauchois 8/13/26 Jonathon Cauchois 8/13/26

Budleigh Salterton Coast Path - River Otter Loop

This coastal walk starts in Budleigh Salterton Lime Kiln Car Park (what3words ///cargo.warms.chariots) and is just under 6 miles/9.6km long. It will take you alongside the River Otter at the beginning and end of the walk, so great for the wildlife lovers. Sturdy footwear is advised, but in the drier months I’ve done this walk in trainers. There are no cafe stops or toilets along the way, but both are available on the seafront close to the car park.

The view of Budleigh Pines over the Otter Estuary

From the car park, take the bridge over the Otter Estuary which will then join a gravel path with wetland on the left and reed beds on the right. We usually spot grey heron, little egrets and sometimes kingfishers along this stretch, as well as hearing the loud call of the cetti’s warbler, goldfinches and the noisy black headed gulls. Once you reach the end of this stretch of path, turn right, taking the route signposted ‘Coast Path, Ladram Bay 3m’. Here you’ll be walking over a bridge, keep to the right as you walk round the bend where you’ll then arrive at a road leading to Pynes Farm Shop. Ignore the entrance to the farm shop, instead turn right up a footpath alongside a field with another signpost for ‘Coast Path’. In the summer months, keep an eye out for swallows and house martins that dip down over the water by the bridge and fly over the reed beds and fields in this area.

At the end of this path, turn right to join the coast path

Views over the bridge, on summer evenings, Swallows gather here

This path will take you down some steps, over a little bridge and up into another field. Sometimes you can spot Skylarks flying above these fields where they ground nest, or rabbits running off into the undergrowth to the right once they notice you. Eventually you arrive at the top where the iconic Budleigh pine trees proudly stand on the right, it’s worth taking in the views of Budleigh beach before carrying on following the path, now to the left.

A view of Budleigh seafront from the coast path

As you follow the coast path, you’ll pass a cove, on a clear day you should be able to see views in the distance of the rest of East Devon from Sidmouth and all the way along to the Dorset Coastline including the Isle of Portland. The terrain along this stretch of the walk will start to get a bit challenging, with a lovely hill to walk up. You will soon be rewarded for your efforts with some benches to rest on when you arrive at Brandy Head Observation Post (which is now available to book as a holiday stay). Take advantage of reading the interesting information boards about the local wildlife here and the history of the observation post before setting off again on the coast path.

Looking back at Budleigh beach and Pines

Enjoying the view from Brandy Head Observation Post

As you continue on the now narrow coast path, be careful of uneven stones underfoot, but do enjoy the sea views with Ladram Bay Stacks coming into view now. Once you arrive at a forked path with a finger post, turn left following the path pointing towards ‘River Otter’, this path is fairly shaded by the trees; very welcoming on a hot summer’s day. Once you pass through a metal gate at the end, it will open up into a small car park for the nearby treatment works. Continue along the gravel path and when you get to the end, turn left where the sign points to ‘unmetalled road’. As you reach the end of this road, turn right down another public footpath, this part does feel like it goes on for a while, but take the opportunity to listen and look out for birds and other wildlife. We saw a buzzard, plenty of butterflies (the hummingbird hawk moth being our favourite), heard chattering goldfinches flying over and a dragonfly kept darting along the path in front of us.

Leaving the coast path towards the River Otter

Once you arrive at a crossroads by a barn interestingly named ‘WH.Smith’, take the shaded path to the left that states ‘½ mile to Clamour bridge’; this will soon ttake us back on to the River Otter path. As you reach the end, pass through both gates and carry on following the track round the field boundary where you’ll meet another gate at the end. From here, turn right and walk up the slight incline until you arrive at two brick pillars, take the steps to the left and cross the bridge over the River Otter. Once over the bridge, turn left and continue on the dusty path keeping the river on your left.

After a while of walking alongside the river, you’ll reach the end of this path, arriving at a gate. From here you can choose which way to head back. I’ll be choosing the path straight ahead, but you can also choose to turn right, and follow the path past the bird hides which then leads to the other side of the reserve. Around this area I’ve spotted Spoonbill and an Osprey before, have a look at the newsletter on the information board informing you of what wildlife has been seen here recently. Whichever way you choose to walk, you’ll soon arrive at South Farm Road Bridge (which has always been known as white bridge), if you chose the left path, you should now recognise the path at the beginning of the walk. Both ways will now take you back to the car park where there are toilets and a cafe available along the seafront, as well as a play park in the car park.

One of the Bird hides on the Otter Estuary Reserve

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