Bicton Common Circular Walk

This 3.3mi/5.3km walk on the Pebblebed Heaths starts and ends in Four Firs free car park (what3words: ///leathers.taller.ruling). It takes you over the heaths, along rugged tracks, through woodland, over a stream and alongside an old quarry. Sturdy footwear is definitely advised for this walk due to the uneven terrain, with inclines in places, as well as the need to cross a stream. A dog friendly walk with dog bins in the car park. Cattle and ponies do graze on the heaths at certain times of the year, so dogs will need to be under control if you come across any livestock. There are no refreshment stops or toilets on this route, but Clyst Coffee do park up their mobile coffee van regularly in the car park (check their social media for updates), as well as Winkleigh Farm’s honesty cafe close by in Sanctuary lane. Kings Garden Centre is also just down the road towards Exmouth.

From the Four Firs car park, take the gate to the far left (left of the information sign), walking the track directly ahead of you. You should be able to see the beautiful views in the distance of rolling hills and the sea as you continue along this route, ignoring any paths that come away from this main track. You’ll soon be walking up a slight incline, listen out for the scratchy tone of the dartford warbler in this area, I heard one, then saw it perched on top of the yellow gorse as I walked down the hill. Once at the bottom, turn right and walk up the pebbled track, luckily avoiding the steeper hill on the left! At the top of the hill, turn left down a path that takes you to the Gibraltar Stone (a large rock brought over from Gibraltar to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Marines who train on the common). Here there are panoramic views of the heaths, sea views and East Devon countryside.

Heather and gorse bringing colour to the heaths

I then walked down the hill to the left of the Gibraltar Stone to pass one of the Royal Marines’ training routes. Feel free to take a look at this steep sided gully at the bottom of the hill, to the left, then turn right and continue along the track until you get to a bend, from here, take the trodden path to the right which will join up to the bottom of the Gibraltar Stone track. (Alternatively, you can just walk down the track on the right of the Gibraltar Stone if you don't want the detour to see the high sided gully). Turn left and walk the track towards trees in the distance. At the top you’ll come to a clearing with a beautiful pine tree standing alone, look back and enjoy the views before turning left down another hill. You’ll get a good view of Peak Hill in the distance as you walk down the slope, meeting a stream, used as a watering hole by the cattle and ponies that graze here. Carefully pass over the water via the stones and walk up the hill, keeping left as you then pass an area of trees where cattle are normally resting.

Ponies graze in this area at certain times of the year

Continue on straight ahead, ignoring any paths that come away from the main track. Eventually you’ll walk down a hill, then up a slope with a path to your right. Ignore this path (though it is a great place for den building), and carry on along the main path until it takes you into the woods. Here I heard so many birds calling and singing; great spotted woodpecker, long tailed tits, coal tits, blackbirds and goldcrests. This path will soon arrive at a stream, carefully cross over it (there is a little bridge made out of logs), then take the main track with the wire fence on your left. Turn right along this route, ignoring a gate on your left, then turning left at a bend to walk up a hill. Here it can get quite muddy from the trickling stream that runs down the hill. Take a track between two trees and turn left to join a grass path that opens up onto the heaths. Keep to this main path which will soon take you under tree coverage as you go down a hill, passing a beautiful tree with large moss covered roots on your left.

This path will then open up again onto the heaths, I heard goldcrests to the right of this track, flitting about in the pine trees. When you reach a gate, pass through it where you’ll get a glimpse of Blackhill Quarry through the trees on your right. It’s no longer a working quarry and is currently under restoration to encourage wildlife and nature back to it. Once at a crossroads (with a road on your left behind a metal barrier) turn right down the hill with the quarry now on your left. In the distance see if you can spot the Gibraltar Stone on your right. You’ll soon pass a board on your left, with more information about the work being undertaken to rewild the quarry site, as well as how successful it’s already been for wildlife. On the September day that I walked this route, I saw coots and tufted ducks on the water, as well as a cormorant perched on the old tree branches on an island on the water.

Once passed through the gate, continue on the track straight ahead of you, with the quarry still on you left, now behind some trees. This track will soon lead you up the last steep hill of the walk where you’ll see a bench at the top. Turn left before the bench walking with the trees on your right. When you spot a public bridleway sign through a track between the trees, turn right and walk down this route. You’ll get a good view of the sea and Otterton village on your right, as you follow this wide path back down towards the car park. I heard dartford warblers again in this area, as well as goldfinches flying over as I passed through a gate, arriving back at Four Firs Car Park. If you enjoyed this walk, I have.a few other walks on here that cover walks in this area of the Pebblebed Heaths, great for families, dog walkers and nature lovers.

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Jonathon Cauchois 9/16/26 Jonathon Cauchois 9/16/26

Branscombe Village and Coast Path Circular

This circular 4mi/6.9km walk begins in Branscombe Beach Pay and Display Car Park (What3words: ///police.nylon.sprain). It takes you alongside a leat, a working mill, an orchard and a forge, then up through the village until you reach the coast path with stunning views of the sea and cliffs before dropping back down into Branscombe, arriving back at the beach. It can be strenuous in a few places with uneven ground and steep inclines, sturdy footwear is advised. There are two pubs and a cafe in Branscombe as well as the National Trust Old Bakery Tea Rooms which you will pass on the walk. (Check opening times online). Toilets are located at the beginning of the walk, as well as National Trust toilets beside the Old Bakery Tea Rooms. This walk is dog friendly, but be aware they may have to remain on lead for sections of the walk due to grazing livestock, and also stretches of road and coast path.

From the car park walk past the toilets behind The Sea Shanty Cafe, turning right on a path that takes you alongside a stream, shaded by trees. Soon you’ll cross over a bridge with a National Trust sign encouraging you to play pooh sticks here. We heard several blue tits and goldcrests along this route as we continued on, ignoring any signs coming off the main path. We also spotted 3 different species of beetle in the brambles on the left next to the wire fence, one being a very shiny and beautiful bronze beetle, as well as another National Trust sign, this one was for a scavenger hunt game. As we crossed over another bridge, we spotted dragonflies darting about in the field to the left, as well as a noisy jay flying from one tree to another as we continued along the gravel path. When you reach a gate, turn left and walk down the track to National Trust Manor Mill, then taking the gate to the right of the steps, with a sign pointing to ‘the Old Bakery Tea Rooms and The Forge’. Walking along the trodden grass track with the water trickling on your left, you’ll soon pass through gates on a bridge, then through another field before entering into an orchard via a ‘snaking’ bridge.

The snaking bridge leading to the orchard

Soon you’ll pass the Old Bakery Tea Rooms on your left and the National Trust visitor information centre and toilets on your right. The Tea Rooms are open on certain days for a refreshment stop (check online for opening times) as is the working forge on the other side of the road. Turn left and walk up the road passing the yellow thatched cottage as you do so. Soon you’ll also pass the church where you’ll be treated to beautiful views of the valley below on your left. We could hear buzzards calling out and circling in the sky above as we continued on up the hill, eventually passing (and ignoring) a footpath sign leading into fields on our left. Be careful of cars passing you as you walk along this road, soon passing Pitt Farm then arriving at a junction in front of a beautiful house named Beehive Cottage. Turn left up this road then up the hill, but keep an eye out for a public footpath to ‘Berry Cliff Coast Path’ just to the right of ‘Rookeries House’. If required, you can have a drink stop at The Fountain Head Inn, just behind Beehive cottage, near the entrance to the footpath.

We spotted a couple of rabbits along this gravel track as it continued up the hill, up some steps and through a gate into Pit Coppice. Here it can be uneven with rocks and tree roots underfoot, as well as a challenging incline. Luckily the steepness doesn't last long before we leave the woods through a kissing gate and into a field. Continue straight through the field, note that there is evidence that cows graze in here so keep dogs on lead if you do spot any livestock. There will soon be a natural trodden path through the contour of the field, you’ll then arrive at a gravel public footpath. Here you can choose to turn left and take a shortened route back to Branscombe via the coast path, or like us, turn right, adding on an extra stretch of the coast path. We took the track through a metal farm gate, continuing ahead with hedgerows on either side, until you reach a stone walled kissing gate. Pass through the kissing gate on the left (marked as a public footpath), and take the track straight ahead through the field. Soon you’ll be able to see the sea on your left as you follow the track, picking up the South West Coast Path by a signpost. From here, turn left and walk the coast path towards Branscombe Mouth. Here we saw plenty of stonechats on the gorse, and heard a dunnock calling as we passed by.

As you walk along the coast path, be sure to enjoy the views of the East Devon coastline behind you. On a clear day you can see Sidmouth, Ladram Bay and Straight point near Exmouth. As we passed through a kissing gate to Berry Cliff Camp, we saw so many swallows dipping down and flying low over us, probably the most I’ve seen in one place. Once you pass through another kissing gate, the path will become uneven and stony before opening up into ‘Fluff’s Car Park’. From here, turn left, then at the end of the track turn right, following the coast path signs for Branscombe Mouth. This part of the track was so peaceful and quiet, listening to the sound of blackbirds and robins singing. This path will turn more sheltered with trees and ferns as you pass another sign post pointing you towards Branscombe, thankfully not down the steps to the left of the gate you pass through.

Looking back at the East Devon Coastline

The woodland path will soon open up to a beautiful view of Branscombe Village with the perfectly placed bench to rest and enjoy the view. We sat here for a while looking down at the valley and listening to a raven calling out in the tree just behind us. There were also plenty of butterflies around this area, enjoying what was left of the summer sunshine. Continuing on, we passed through a kissing gate, where eventually the stony path opened up to the sea views of Branscombe Beach. Once again, there was a bench placed here to enjoy the views before heading down the hill, through a kissing gate into a field, where it then takes you to where we first started the walk beside the beach and car park. If you like the look of the steep hill on the other side of the beach, then there is a lovely walk from Beer to Branscombe (and back) that I have previously posted here.

A perfect spot to enjoy the view before heading down the hill

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