Local Dartmoor Walks

The Bowerman’s Nose

Bowerman the hunter and his pack of fierce hounds were turned to stone by the witches, or so the legend goes.  Sometimes, on misty or moonless nights, many have claimed to hear Bowerman and his pack chasing a quarry!

> Start point: The Cottage
> End point: The Cottage (or The Cleave pub!)
> Length: 8 miles (4 miles there and 4 miles back)
> Time: 4 hours
> Grade: easy but some steep slopes

Dartmoor National Park Authority at Bovey Tracey

A nice easy walk through a wooded river valley and parkland.

> Start point: Bovey Tracey (SX 814782)
> End point: Bovey Tracey (SX 814782)
> Length: 3 miles
> Time: 2 hours
> Grade: easy

River Bovey and Hisley Wood

Short circular walk from the cottage through the woodland paths and along the river bovey.  This walk visits much of the best that the immediate area has to offer, enjoying stunning views along the route.

> Start point: The Cottage
> End point: The Cottage (or The Cleave pub!)
> Length: 4 miles
> Time: 2 hours
> Grade: easy but steep climb to Higher Hisley

To Manaton and back

Circular walk from Lustleigh to Manaton taking in Heaven’s Gate and Hunter’s Tor where you’ll find the remains of an Iron Age hillfort.  Why not break the walk by calling in to the Kestor Inn for a refreshing drink.

> Start point: The Cottage
> End point: The Cottage (or The Cleave pub)
> Length: 7.5 miles
> Time: 4 hours
> Grade: easy but some steep slopes

Dartmoor’s famous Lustleigh Cleave

A circular walk combining woodland and riverside rambles through the deep and sequestered Cleave, taking in the lovely boulder-strewn waterfall at Horsham Steps and the excellent ridge walk from Hunters Tor to Harton Chest. The views are superb.

> Start point: The Cottage
> End point: The Cottage (or The Cleave pub!)
> Length: 5 miles
> Time: 3.5 hours
> Grade: easy but some steep slopes

Haytor to Houndtor along the Granite Tramway

Enjoy stunning views over a changing landscape and see evidence of Dartmoor’s medieval and industrial past by walking along the granite tramway to Houndtor medieval village and returning to Haytor.

> Start point: Haytor Information Centre
> End point: Haytor Information Centre
> Distance from cottage: 5 miles
> Length: 6.5 miles
> Time: 3.5 hours
> Grade: moderate

Three Dartmoor pubs walk

Not for the faint hearted, nor the lily livered, but rewarded by 3 of the best Dartmoor watering holes in the area: The Kestor Inn, The Ring of Bells Inn and The Cleave Pub.  Cut across Lustleigh Cleave to Manaton then head up to North Bovey, returning to Lustleigh across Hunter’s Tor to have a well earnt dinner in The Cleave Pub.

> Start point: The Cottage
> End point: The Cottage
> Length: 11 miles
> Time: All day
> Grade: Challenging length with some steep slopes

Useful links:

Walking on Dartmoor, Dartmoor Walks, and Letterboxing/Geocaching.

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