Despite the wet weather today, we weren’t going to let it ruin our day off. We decided to take advantage of our National Trust membership and go to Parke. Situated in Bovey Tracey, Parke offers plenty of walks through woodland, farmland and along the river. It’s also very dog friendly, which was what made us visit here again, as we had two dogs that needed a good walk.
32 Likes, 1 Comments - Discovering Devon (@lorzjayne) on Instagram: "A woodland walk around @nationaltrustparke"
We parked up and put on our walking boots, to prepare for the wet and muddy walk ahead. The car park is owned by National Trust, and charges do apply if you aren’t a National Trust member, but that is the only fee you have to pay to access the grounds. Once we got the dogs out, we started our walk, following the gravelled path towards the Parke Estate. From here there were views of the countryside, reminding you that it’s situated on the outskirts of Dartmoor National Park.
28 Likes, 1 Comments - Discovering Devon (@lorzjayne) on Instagram: "Even on a cold and wet day, we still enjoyed a muddy walk around the Parke woods and estate."
As we passed the main house at Parke, we also caught a glimpse of the Home Farm Cafe, which we had visited a year ago, and made a note to pop in after our walk, for a bite to eat and a drink to warm up with. But first, we had dogs that wanted to explore the woodland surrounding the estate.
The Home Farm Cafe at Parke National Trust. A cosy place to eat yummy food, very dog friendly too ☺️
25 Likes, 4 Comments - Discovering Devon (@lorzjayne) on Instagram: "The Home Farm Cafe at Parke National Trust. A cosy place to eat yummy food, very dog friendly too ☺️"
Last time we visited Parke, we walked along the River Bovey, and did a spot of geocaching as we watched a heron trying to catch its lunch in the water. Below is one of the photos from last year, we weren’t lucky enough to see another heron today, but did see a lot of other wildlife, including some friendly robins following us as we walked through the woods.
Today, we decided to cross the river over an old stone bridge that joins the estate to the woodland walks. The River Bovey was flowing fast today, which wasn’t surprising, seeing as we’ve had a lot of rainfall in the last 24 hours.
Despite the rain, it was clear to see that Parke is a popular place for dog walkers. We passed several walkers with their 4 legged friends, as we walked around the woodland. Our dogs really enjoyed exploring the area off lead, getting muddy, and running off some energy. We didn’t do any geocaches today, but there are quite a few around the estate worth doing. Today we just followed a few marked footpaths around the woods and along the river.
We were treated to an array of Autumnal colour as we walked the woodland paths. It reminded me why I love this season so much. We realised that we’ve not visited Parke in the Spring or Summer, it would be interesting to see what the estate looks like at different times of the year, so we made a note to revisit again in the New Year.
42 Likes, 6 Comments - Discovering Devon (@lorzjayne) on Instagram
As we walked along the main path, under stone bridges and alongside the river, we saw other walkers passing us by on lower and higher paths, through woodland, fields and over bridges. It made me realise, we could keep coming back to Parke, and be able to walk different routes each time, exploring areas we hadn’t seen before. It’s one thing I like about Parke, the grounds are spread over so much land that you won’t get bored if you visit time and time again.
38 Likes, 4 Comments - Discovering Devon (@lorzjayne) on Instagram
As the rain started to come down a bit heavier, we decided to follow a footpath along side the route we were taking, that would take us back to the cafe, but didn’t mean we were walking back the same path. The path we walked back on had a lot of leaves underfoot, and was rather muddy, so walking boots or wellies are a must at this time of year. Some of the walks that came away from the main path were quite narrow and had tree roots along them, so wouldn’t be suitable for everyone, but the main path is easily accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
38 Likes, 1 Comments - Discovering Devon (@lorzjayne) on Instagram: "An autumnal walk through the Parke woodland estate. @nationaltrustparke"
We were glad to arrive at the Home Farm Cafe, to shelter from the rain, and warm up with some lunch. ‘The long room’ that is joined to the cafe, is the dog friendly area. It was really warm and cosy inside, and appeared popular with many dogs and their owners, stopping for a bite to eat.
28 Likes, 2 Comments - Discovering Devon (@lorzjayne) on Instagram: "Love how cosy and warm it felt in the long room of the home farm cafe @nationaltrustparke"
Each time we visit a National Trust place, we always end up having a cream tea, so today we decided not to break tradition, although we did go for a ‘cheese tea’ instead, consisting of warm savoury scones, with cheese and chutney to add on top. As well as a pot of loose tea to warm us up. We enjoyed the scones, as well as the relaxing atmosphere in the cafe, with the heating on, comfy seating and soft lighting, it was the perfect place to enjoy lunch after a long wet walk around the estate. For those of you that like to explore different terrain with your dogs, this place is definitely for you. Especially if you like National Trust Estates like Killerton. We’ll definitely be back to explore again in a different season.