Bovey Valley Woods Circular Walk

This 3.6mi/5.7km circular walk starts at the free Pullabrook car park (what3words: ///host.retract.condense) and takes you through woodland, heathland and along the River Bovey. There is so much wildlife and nature on this walk, passing two bird hides, moss covered trees, the lichen trail and so many species of fungi. There are some inclines with uneven terrain in places, so sturdy footwear is advised. There are toilets halfway along the walk at the Natural England Offices (Yarner Wood), but no refreshment stops on the route. There is a cafe at National Trust Parke (7 minute drive), as well as Ullacombe Farm Cafe & Shop (6 minute drive). Lustleigh is the nearest village (5 minute drive) which has a pub and cafe. There are also picnic benches in Yarner Wood by the National England Offices car park.

From the car park, follow the main track through the gate, passing some timber stacks. Take a minor path on your right before the second lot of timber stacks where you’ll pass several trees in the woods with bat boxes attached. You’ll first hear the River Bovey on your right, then as you pass though a gate, the river will be in sight on your right. Continue along this path, walking alongside the river on your right. Keep an eye out for grey wagtails and dippers in the river, especially any rocks they may perch on in the middle of the water. When you arrive at a gate in front of you, ignore this and continue to the right where you’ll soon pass over a stile and into some woodland. Here we heard long tailed tits calling out continuously and goldcrests squealing as we took the trodden path up the hill. Be careful of rocks and tree roots as you walk to the top, then turn right, taking a narrow path until it reaches a lane.

The gate leading to East Dartmoor Nature Reserve

Turn left up this lane that’s decorated with moss covered trees, stones and beautiful ferns as the path soon turns into a gravel track. When you arrive at a rocky path on the right, take this route between the ferns which will soon open up into a car park. From here, exit the car park on the right, walking a short distance up the road until you pick up a track on the other side of the road (by a bus stop with a bench). Take the bridleway to the left of the locked gates, then ahead of you, pass through the gate signposted as Yarner Wood (there’s a sign here stating that dogs need to be on leads). We heard and saw a group of meadow pipits here as we turned right at the end of this path, and on the damp September day we did this walk grasshoppers were still hopping around on the ground. Passing a gate on your right, take the path ahead of you, then turn left down a stony track with tree roots underfoot. We saw an impressive wood ant nest on the left here as we walked down the hill. The views ahead and to the right of the trees in the valley were beautiful as we turned right at the end of the track, then through a gate which leads into a car park.

Plenty of leaflets of the local nature and wildlife

Crossing the bridge by the picnic benches

There are toilets here in this car park by the National England Offices, as well as some information leaflets on the local wildlife and nature you may encounter. After picking up a couple of leaflets we left the car park through a gate opposite the offices, then crossed over a wooden bridge. We walked the gravel path, passing picnic benches on our left by a stream, then at the end of the path, turned right, passing moss covered trees up the hill. We could hear several jays calling out in the trees here, a busy time of year for them at the moment, collecting and caching acorns to store and eat over winter. At the top of the lane, we stopped off at the bird hide before taking the track on the right hand side. When you get to a fork in the path, take the track to the right; we saw a group of chaffinches foraging on the path here as we walked under the canopy of trees. Keep an eye out for lichen and moss on the stone walls and tree roots along this track too. Turn right down a path with a post beside it which will take you down some steps then across two wooden bridges. We then turned left at the end of this path, then right, up a hill and through a gate, then taking a path to the left. (We then took a detour to the path straight ahead by the metal railings which took us to a bird hide overlooking a beautiful reservoir). Once arriving at an information sign, we took a path on the right and passed through a gate, crossing a road and entering into a car park. We picked up a grass path straight ahead in the car park, which took us right, down the hill, boasting lovely views of the valley and trees, it was lightly raining at this point, which seemed to make the landscape even more beautiful. Ignore the first left turn, instead take the second left and continue on a rocky path down the hill.

So much moss and lichen on the trees and stone wall in this area

Walking the path towards the two wooden bridges

When you arrive at the bottom of the path, you should notice you’ve been on this track before. Turn left down the hill and keep an eye out for different fungi along this route, there will be a lot more popping up soon, now we’re entering into the damp autumnal days. When you pass a boulder, turn right through a gate where you’ll arrive at Hisley Bridge, a beautiful old stone packhorse bridge. After crossing over the bridge, turn right where you’ll soon pass through a gate and onto a gravel track, we saw a dipper perched on a rock in the river, so keep an eye out as you walk this path alongside the water. When you pass a sign saying ‘Hisley Woods’, take the path to the right, keeping to the riverside walk.

Eventually you’ll pass through a gate into a field with the river still on your right. Follow the trodden path that takes you to a metal gate to the left. After passing through the gate, we noticed some broken snail shells on the stone wall to the right, signs that a song thrush has most probably used the stone as an anvil to get to the snail inside. We turned right and walked down the lane then right again at the end, where soon you’ll pass over a stone road bridge and arrive back at the car park on your right. This is one of many beautiful walks Dartmoor has to offer. I’ll be posting more on here soon to enjoy, so be sure to keep an eye out for them.

Hisley Bridge, the old stone packhorse bridge

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Jonathon Cauchois 9/4/26 Jonathon Cauchois 9/4/26

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

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