North Devon Ramblers invite you to join them

North Devon Ramblers have been walking sections of the Dartmoor Way since it was relaunched in 2022 (delayed for two years because of Covid) with new signposting and a better route in places.

The first May bank holiday weekend in 2022 saw over 200 people experiencing the delights of Dartmoor by walking parts of the Dartmoor Way as part of a three-day walking festival.

What is the Dartmoor Way, I hear you ask?

The Dartmoor Way is a waymarked 108-mile (173km) long circular route around the edge of Dartmoor.

This newly waymarked route travels along quiet footpaths, bridleways and little-used byways passing through many of the attractive towns and villages that nestle on the edge of Dartmoor, offering a wide variety of food and accommodation.

The route explores wooded valleys; sparkling streams that tumble off the moor; deep drove-roads and bridleways used for generations by farmers and travellers. There is also a cycling route of 95 miles.

For the walking festival, North Devon provided a 10.5-mile walk from Castle Drogo (Britain’s newest castle) along the Dartmoor Way with views of the Teign Valley and Fingle Bridge before a steep ascent to Cranbrook Castle, an iron age hillfort and  on to Butterdon Down to see the standing stone.

Last year we walked from Chagford, an ancient market town, to Wonson and Dogmarsh Bridge on the River Teign and later in the year from South Zeal to Wonson.

The route has enabled us to visit interesting villages which are normally bypassed.

Our walks, which started in South Zeal,were particularly interesting as we visited the Oxenham Arms which has a menhir or standing stone incorporated into the pub.

The standing stone is probably about 5,000 years old and the building is believed to have been built around the menhir by monks in the 12th century.

As well as the menhir in the snug there is also a ‘Roman Pillar’ propping up the roof of the restaurant. It is hard to believe that the A30 used to run through this pretty and interesting village.

We have also visited Belstone, Okehampton and walked along the East and West Okement rivers, as well as seeing a very small River Taw which travels all the way to the Taw and Torridge estuary at Instow.

Come and experience the delights of the villages that border the Dartmoor Way but also the wide-open moor. You would be most welcome to join us on our next sections.

The adventure continues on Saturday, June 15 with an 11.5-mile linear walk from Mary Tavy to the Prewley Waterworks car park below Sourton Tor.

We are meeting in the car park at the waterworks (EX20 4HP; grid reference SX 546 909; What3Words ///stunner.senders.expanded) for a briefing and departure at 10.15am.

We plan to arrive in Mary Tavy by bus which is an interesting journey in itself.

Walking back to Lydford, we cross Black Down below Gibbet Hill, with far reaching views across the Devon countryside for our coffee break.

After a picnic lunch in ancient Lydford, there will be the opportunity to visit St Petrock’s Church and medieval Lydford Castle. The route takes us across farmland to the Church of St Thomas a Becket, where we will have a brief tea break before contouring round Sourton Tor.

During the following month on Saturday, July 6, there is an 11-mile circular walk from St Mary’s Church in Mary Tavy to Merrivale, passing Peter Tavy, Cox Tor and onto Moortown.

We will return via Feather Tor and Merrivale. This walk provides good moorland walking with far reaching walks on a clear day, especially of the tors for which Dartmoor is famous.

Towards the end of the summer, on Sunday, September 1, we plan to walk along the Dartmoor Way High Moor Link, starting from Merrivale, visiting Samford Spiney and Walkhampton Common on the way to Princetown.

We will return via King’s Tor, past a stone row and possibly stopping at the Dartmoor Inn at Merrivale. We do try to have a pub or tea stop at the end of our Dartmoor Way walks.

It is nice to have a chat and refreshments before heading home, as well as supporting local businesses.

See the range of walks we offer at www.northdevonramblers.org.uk For any questions about the walk, please contact the walk leader.