Walk Devon - Dartmoor and South West Coast Path

The trip starts at Totnes Railway station at 11.00am. We drive to Dartmoor National Park in the heart of Devon and start exploring this beautiful area of wild, open moorlands with a great introductory walk. This vast, craggy landscape is rich with wildlife and defined by striking granite tors, wetlands, rivers and forests that have inspired authors, poets and artists through the ages. Weather permitting we plan to have a picnic at the evocative Scorhill Stone Circle, one of Dartmoor's finest Bronze Age sites. We bag our first tor at Kestor Rock and trace the flow of the North Teign River into the ancient stannary town of Chagford where there is a chance to swim at the river-fed Lido - it's quirky, but a lovely experience in the heart of the moor! Finally we drive on to our first hotel base in Moretonhampstead, a busy and picturesque town nestled in the National Park. We plan to meet for an introductory briefing at 6pm followed by a chance to get to know your fellow travellers over dinner.

Today's easy-graded walk will take approximately 3 hours and will cover a distance of 10 kilometres with a total ascent and descent of 130 metres.

The plan today is to continue our exploration of beautiful Dartmoor on two short circular walks. After breakfast, we drive straight out on to the moors to the rugged crag of Haytor - a high point with commanding views over both the Dartmoor landscape and all the way to the coast. We start our hike to Hound Tor, which you can see in the distance, reportedly the site that inspired Arthur Conan Doyle's book, Hound of the Baskervilles. From Hound Tor we take a different route back across the moor to Haytor.
We will break for lunch in a local cafe. In the afternoon we will walk downhill off the Moor towards Bovey Tracey and the National Trust cafe at Parke. At the end of the walk later this afternoon we drive the short distance back to our hotel in Moretonhampstead.

Today's moderate-graded walk will take approximately 5 hours and will cover a distance of 15 kilometres with a total ascent and descent of 380 metres.

After checking out of the hotel this morning, we drive to the our walk on the upper reaches of the River Dart, a stunning valley, where we walk through Holne Woods to Sharrah Pool - a deep, calm pool of freshwater between two cascades on the River Dart - popular with wild swimmers. As there is no lifeguard you swim at own risk. After walking back to our vehicle, we bid farewell to Dartmoor, driving to the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where the rest of our walks take place. If the tide is low and safe to cross, we will start our walk from Mothecombe with an ankle- to knee-deep crossing of the estuary, and if the water is high we start walking from Kingston instead. We then spend the afternoon following the South West Coast Path to the stunning sandy beaches at Bigbury on Sea. If tides allow, we will walk across the causeway to Burgh Island for a well-earned pint in the Pilchard Inn, which dates from 1316. The hotel on Burgh Island is a unique example of English seaside art deco and some of Agatha Christie's novels were set here. Finally we drive to our second hotel base in Buckfastleigh, a small market town, originally an important wool centre, ideally placed with abundant water and easy access to Dartmoor where flocks of sheep could graze.

Today's moderate-graded walk will take approximately 5 to 6 hours and will cover a distance of 16 kilometres with a total ascent and descent of 340 metres.

We start the day with a short drive to Aveton Gifford, and downstream from here the river Avon winds through its beautiful and secluded valley to the sea. The first part of today's walk takes us along the wooded banks of the Avon estuary through peaceful countryside. If the tide is low, we will explore the route on the west bank so you can see a tidal road. We then walk down the east bank of the estuary all the way to Bantham beach. Keep your eyes peeled for swans, herons and curlews as there is rich birdlife here. Trout and Salmon swim in to spawn upriver and sometimes otters can be seen fishing in the estuary. Continuing to Thurlestone, we then follow the SW Coast Path as it dips up and down on its way to our final destination at Hope Cove, one of the most special places on the South Devon coast and a great place for a swim! After some freetime here we drive back to Buckfastleigh for a nice relaxing evening.

Today's moderate-graded walk will take approximately 5 hours and will cover a distance of 13 kilometres with a total ascent and descent of 230 metres.

After the drive back to Hope Cove we start our final walk - thought by many to be one of the most beautiful sections of the entire 630 miles of the SW Coast Path. Keep your eyes peeled for peregrine falcons and kestrels near Bolt Tail and after some fairly large inclines we stop for a picnic at the stunning Sour Mill Cove. The trail is quite rugged and tricky in places, but gets easier as you join the Courtney Walk. We then descend the steep rocky slopes that lead down to the sea along the final stretch to the iconic coastal town of Salcombe. You may like to try some fresh local crab and an evening pint on the banks of the estuary. Finally, we drive back to Buckfastleigh for dinner to celebrate the end of our feast of walking from moor to sea.

Today's moderate-graded walk will take approximately 5 to 6 hours and will cover a distance of 15 kilometres with a total ascent and descent of 380 metres.

The trip ends after breakfast. For those clients interested we will drive you to Totnes Train Station to drop you there by 10am for ongoing travel. If you have parked your car in Moretonhampstead please discuss with your Tour Leader so you can be dropped off there instead.