Beautiful Walking Routes to Explore in Devon
Coastal Pubs | Country Pubs | Countryside | Featured | Outdoor Activities | Pub | Pub Accommodation | Walking | Posted 2024.05.14
May marks National Walking Month, a month dedicated to encouraging everyone to explore the great outdoors whilst promoting the benefits that walking has on both your physical health and mental wellbeing. Walking is one of the easiest ways to improve our health and stay connected to our community, helping us feel less lonely and isolated.
Devon is the ideal location for walking holidays due to its diverse landscapes, beautiful coastlines, and its many charming coastal towns. It truly is a stunning place for getting outdoors and enjoying walks whilst exploring the beautiful sights that the county has to offer.
What makes Devon an even better walking holiday destination is the abundance of pubs providing accommodation in the area. The county is home to many different types of pubs, from traditional inns to contemporary pubs with coastal views. These establishments provide a great retreat after your walking explorations.
So why not use our guide as your motivation to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and get walking?!
Beautiful Walking Routes to Explore in Devon
1. Wistman’s Wood
Wistman’s Wood is an enchanting forest nestled within Dartmoor National Park. The forest is covered with tangled and stunted oaks, with their branches draped in moss and lichen. Moss-covered boulders are scattered across the forest floor. The forest is crucial for supporting a diverse ecosystem of animals and plants.
Wistman’s Wood is steeped in folklore and legends. The name “Wistman” is thought to be derived from the Old English words for “wisht” or “pixie-led,” adding to the magic and mystery of the woods.
Natural England encourages visitors to stick to designated paths, respecting the delicacy of this extremely rare habitat.
The Dartbridge Inn, found on the outskirts of Dartmoor National Park, is a delightful country pub to stay in when exploring this enchanting woodland. This welcoming 19th-century pub is filled with character and charm, with 17 comfortable en-suite bedrooms, including for your four-legged walking companion.
2. Lydford Gorge
The walk through this steep-sided river gorge may be a challenge, but it is definitely worth it for the views. Lydford gorge was naturally formed in the rocky hills on the edge of Dartmoor over thousands of years, by the process of ‘river capture’, where one river merges with another, following gradual erosion of the rocks between the two. Today, it’s become a popular location due to its winding trails through temperate rainforest, which is now a globally rare habitat. It’s designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its geology, flora and fauna.
Down in the gorge, along the riverside path and past small waterfalls, the route leads to White Lady waterfall. This waterfall gets its name from a local legend that says it is home to a ghostly lady. To this day, she is still occasionally spotted here, wearing a long white gown.
A short way off the trail you’ll also find Devil’s Cauldron, a dark ravine surrounded by rock faces covered in mosses and ferns. It’s here that the river seems to boil, an action alongside the great force of the water that created the giant pothole over the centuries.
The Castle Inn found in the village of Lydford is the perfect place to stay in when exploring this walk and the rest of Dartmoor. Not only does this pub have a great location but the beautiful bedrooms accompanied with the warm and inviting atmosphere make this a favourable pub for your stay.
3. Hope Cove Circular walk to Burgh Island
Hope Cove and Burgh Island are both stunning locations on the southwest coast of Devon. Both areas have a range of walks differing in length, allowing you to take in the beautiful beaches, dramatic cliffs and magnificent history the area has to offer.
Hope Cove consists of two coves, Inner Hope and Outer Hope. The first record of a settlement in the village of Hope Cove dates back to 1281, with the village becoming known around this time for fishing and smuggling.
As you head west from Hope Cove you can enjoy views of the beautiful Devon coastline before reaching the fascinating Burgh Island.
Burgh Island is an iconic attraction known for its appearances in the Agatha Christie novels and TV adaptations and is located directly opposite Bigbury on Sea. To visit the island, you can take a stroll across the sand during low tide, but at high tide you will need to use the unique sea tractor.
As you head back to Hope Cove you will reach Bolberry Down. Bolberry Down is an old settlement, mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Boltesberia. At the top of the steep hill in Bolberry is the Port Light Inn, originally the club house of a pre-war golf club. Later it became part of a World War II RAF radio station. There are still radio masts here, now part of a navigational signal system.
For your accommodation when exploring this walking route in Devon chose to stay in either Hope & Anchor or The Victoria Inn, two delightful pubs run by St Austell. Both of these pubs are within easy reach of this walk and offer a great place for you to enjoy a delicious meal, sea views and a peaceful nights sleep.
4. White Tor Walk
White Tor is a magnificent ruin of rock at the top a hill in the Dartmoor National Park. The 3000-year-old monument was used in the Bronze Age as a settlement and fort, it one of the oldest in Dartmoor. The site features cairns and a large Neolithic settlement, known as a ‘tor enclosure’.
Start this walk by wandering to the Langstone Moor stone circle, a low prehistoric structure close to an ancient settlement of hut circles.
Then clamber to the summit of White Tor where you can enjoy panoramic views of the folding slopes of Tavy Cleave, a small part of Cornwall, and the lumpy hills of Bodmin Moor. The Bearslake Inn is an excellent choice of accommodation when exploring Dartmoor and beautiful walks like these. This historic thatched pub has six inviting en-suite bedrooms and sits between the market towns of Okehampton and Tavistock.
5. Bystock Nature Reserve
Bystock Nature reserve is well-loved nature reserve in the southeast of Devon. Inside the nature reserve is a lily-pad filled lake, a variety of waterside woodlands, and a wildflower meadow.
The Bystock Nature reserve is a magical place to explore due to the fact it is home to a large variety of wildlife.
In May you can see over 20 species of dragonfly and damselfly breeding on the waters. From the boardwalk, it’s easy to spot the emperor, downy emerald and golden-ringed dragonflies, as well as the small red damselfly.
Bystock’s proximity to heathland, wildflower meadows and woodland creates an oasis for over 30 species of butterfly. In May, the conditions are ideal for the small pearl-bordered, dark green and silver-washed fritillaries, which can be seen in the surrounding copses and meadows.
Naturally, this invertebrate activity invites a variety of birdlife to Bystock’s heaths, including the rare nightjar – listen out for its churring calls on a summer evening. The benches along this stretch offer a peaceful picnic spot to watch dragonflies, as well as stonechats and sometimes kingfishers.
In Exeter a short drive away from Bystock Nature Reserve are the two pubs The City Gate and The Turk’s Head. These pubs allow you to visit the lovely city of Exeter and its many attractions, whilst still being able to enjoy the beautiful Devon countryside. These pubs are great choices for your stay when explore some of the best walking routes in Devon.
Written by Issy Matthews