Featured holiday Two Moors Way Classic in nine walking days Devon and Somerset

You reach your first overnight stop in the course of the day, perhaps by train to Ivybridge and then taking a taxi. Remember to pre-book a table if you want to dine in. Allow time to check your kit, pack your rucksack and study your guides and maps.

This is the first stage of the Two Moors Way and you are thrust quickly into the wide and barren expanse that is much of Dartmoor. The route starts off by following a disused tramway and this starts to introduce the visitor to the complex uses and workings of the moor over many thousands of years. This area on Harford Moor is rich in evidence of prehistoric settlements with is stone rows, cairns, tin workings and blowing houses (a building used for smelting tin), pounds and clapper bridges, the latter being a prominent feature of Dartmoor. To your left there is the Erme Valley containing Piles Copse, one of three areas of upland oak woodland, where stunted oaks rise out of a bed of granite boulders. At times today there is little signage and the route traverses open moorland. You cross the river Avon by a clapper bridge. Near here, at Huntingdon Warren, you can see the signs of local rabbit farming which took place on the moor from the 13th century until the 1950s. Warrens were set up often to provide the workers of the tin mines with food and skins. At a point near Pupers Rock you will be able to view the tower of Buckfast Abbey to your right. Shortly before Scorriton you meet a lane that leads down to the village.
Distance: About 13 miles
Time: About 6.5 hrs

Today you meet with some glorious Dartmoor landscape and panoramic views, although there are some relatively steep up and downs, ending with a picturesque climb from the West Webburn river to the southern edge of Hamel Down, above Widecombe. After a start through fields you drop after Holne to a wooded track along the banks of the River Dart to New Bridge, a narrow stone bridge dating from the 15th Century. You pass under the bridge and follow the river towards Deeper Marsh, a popular spot for bathers in good weather. Soon there is a steep climb through woods and bracken passing the rocky outcrops of Leigh Tor. Then you will soon join Dr Blackall’s Drive which affords panoramic views across the steeply wooded and steeply sloped valley of the River Dart to Bench Tor and Combestone Tor. From here you descend across Sherberton Common and a single-track road to Ponsworthy. Rest for a moment or two alongside the ford and then follow the West Webburn river along a wooded track to reach the hamlet of Jordan. Then it’s uphill passing farms and just off from the route is the abandoned, mediaeval settlement of Hutholes. Shortly afterwards you reach the edge of Dunstone Down, at the southern end of Hamel Down. There is a carpark here at the end of today’s walk where we can arrange for a car to meet you or you can walk down Southcombe Hill into the village of Widecombe, (an additional 1.5 miles) to explore the Church of St Pancras, the old pig house, the National Trust’s The Church House, the village green and perhaps enjoy a cup of tea in the tea room.
Distance: About 9 miles
Time: About 5 hrs

This is another fine Dartmoor day combining open expanses of moorland with tremendous views, a bronze age settlement and prehistoric standing stones, perhaps a detour to the highest pub on Dartmoor, and then more open commonland, followed by shady and sometimes damp woodland tracks, fields and green lanes before reaching the banks of the River Teign near Chagford. You start today’s walk back at Dunstone Down and follow the wide track as it bears uphill towards Hamel Down affording views across Widecombe to Bonehill Rocks and to the Warren House Inn in the other direction. At Broad Barrow the track veers downhill quite steeply to the bronze age settlement of Grimspound sheltering in a hollow beneath Hookney Tor to which the track ascends. You reach Bennett’s Cross and here, if you have time and inclination, you can divert to the Warren House Inn, along the B3212. Otherwise you continue along a narrow moorland track until you spot the 49 Standing Stones. The track broadens out and allows a very pleasant stroll across common land, with opportunities to rest on boulders before you reach the single-track road that leads to Fernworthy. From here it’s a mixture of road, farm track, field, wooded path, often damp under foot or on boards passing secluded farms, houses and hamlets before you descend and ascend and descend along narrow, green lanes to reach Leigh Bridge over the River Teign. A road along the river leads you to Chagford Bridge and it’s then about half a mile on a single-track road up into the centre of Chagford.
Distance: About 10 miles
Time: About 5 hours

The walk today starts off gently as you can amble along the meadows and wooded paths of the River Teign before you ascend through the grounds of Castle Drogo, traverse around the hillside on a narrowish but flat path high above the Teign Valley, before entering the pastures of the farmland on the edge of the moor and then it’s up and down along lanes and through woodland before reaching your stop for the night. Highlights of today are surely the initial stretch of the route as you follow the banks of the Teign with views behind you to Chagford and Meldon Hill and then the awe-inspiring views from the track by Sharp Tor beneath Castle Drogo. Drewsteignton affords the chance of a cup of tea or a drink and time to absorb the picturesque architecture of the village before you continue northwards, ascending and descending a patchwork of fields and woodland. Pause to visit the ancient church of Hittisleigh Barton before continuing along a mixture of narrow roads and farm tracks. There is a particularly green lane that ascends after you cross the River Troney and then there is a charming woodland descent after Granny’s Meadow Nursery through Horwell Wood before you cross what was the Exeter to Okehampton railway line, a section from Coleford Junction that was opened in 1871.
Distance: About 15 miles
Time: About 7.5 hours

Today and tomorrow are transition days from Dartmoor to Exmoor walking through the Devon heartland of rolling hills and wooded valleys. The first part of the walk today takes you past the Paschoe Dairy Farm and Appledore Farm onto open fields until a flat track leads you to the settlement of Clannaborough Barton. This is a cluster of farm buildings and a few houses with a 16th century church (St Petrock). You cross the busy A3072 and then climb up a narrow lane with banks of red soil. Still more tracks and fields until you reach the very busy A377 which you cross as the track takes you away from the road, following parallel to the railway line, known as the Tarka Line from Crediton to Barnstaple. The llamas in the field here usually stop to stare at you. Just ahead is Morchard Road with its railway station and Devonshire Dumpling pub just off the track with bears right over the railway line and continues through rich pastureland and fields in the direction of Morchard Bishop. This is the halfway point of the original Two Moors Way and is deep Devon farming countryside. At Slade you pass the end of a line of wildlife ponds and then through an orchard. The area abounds with cob and thatched barns and houses. Once you reach Morchard Bishop look back for views of Dartmoor in the distance. The village possesses a long row of thatched cottages from the 18th century and has a 15th century church dedicated to St Mary with a tower that is almost one hundred feet tall. Take your time to enjoy the Devon heartland with much of the track now through fields and pastureland, with the odd wood and coppice, stream and footbridge to cross. There is the ancient hamlet of Washford Pyne, recorded in the Domesday Book. Still more farms and fields and cottages until you emerge from the gardens of the village houses to find yourself in the Square of Witheridge with its coaching inn, the Mitre, dating from the 1830s.
Distance: About 14 miles
Time: About 7 hours

This is designed to be a shorter day today as you may want to plan ahead and treat yourself to dinner in the Michelin-starred Masons Arms in Knowstone this evening (closed on Sunday evenings and Mondays at the time of writing). This is also a relatively quiet day as the lush countryside of the Devon heartland continues to be crossed by the track. Woodland, water meadow, fields of wildflowers and wildlife such as fallow deer and buzzards can be found today. As you cross the Little Dart you’ll see Bradford Mill which was a working mill from the 17th until the 20th century. There is also moorland at Creacombe where you climb to over 800ft (almost 250m) above sea level and enjoy views over the rolling farmland towards the southern edge of Exmoor. Soon you’ll experience another Devon green lane and then open land surrounded by a network of small fields at Knowstone Moor. There is the Outer Moor and the Inner Moor and along with nearby Hares Down, these patches of land are now rare culm grassland, a mixture of purple moor-grass and wet heath, which absorbs water at five times the rate of ordinary grassland. Locals still have common grazing rights to the land. Knowstone is a pretty cluster of houses and a designated conservation area with a 15th century church and unspoiled churchyard.
Distance: About 8 miles
Time: About 4 hours

The day starts by a traverse of the mid-Devon rural landscape, down and uphill. On Owlaborough Moor are tumuli, vestiges of the occupation of this land over the centuries and a little further on is the dismantled track of the Devon and Somerset Railway and the tiny village of Yeo Mill, where there are signs in its former coaching inn and village shop that these places would have been busier in times gone by. Enjoy the streams, hedges, green lanes and wooded patches before reaching the village of West Anstey with its 14th century church dedicated to St Petrock. You skirt common land and soon enter the start of the Exmoor section of the Two Moors Way. Note the sign which tells you that there are only 24 miles to go to Lynmouth. You have views to the village of Hawkridge sitting above the valley of Dane’s Brook to the south and the attractive valley of the River Barle to the north. At Hawkridge you meet the Exe Valley Way. The Two Moors then follows the side of the ridge, forested below you as it drops down to the river, before you descend to the iconic Tarr Steps. Tarr Steps is a 17-span clapper bridge located at an ancient fording point of the River Barle and one of the longest of its kind in Britain. The woodlands around the Tarr Steps and along the banks of the River Barle are a National Nature Reserve and are significant for the mosses, liverworts and lichens that are found here. There is also a moss found in burrows which appears to glow in the dark. There are mature hazel, blackberry and honeysuckle and otters feed on the fish and eels found in the river. Dippers and kingfishers are likely to be seen on the river. Just above Tarr Steps is Winsford Hill and its extension, South Hill, home to the Anchor herd of Exmoor ponies, free living and thought to be a race of wild horse rather than a breed.
Distance: About 10 miles
Time: About 5 hours

Today’s stretch of about eleven miles trails the course of the beautiful River Barle from Tarr Steps up-stream to Simonsbath in the heart of what was the Royal Forest of Exmoor. After the previous days of up and down hills, today’s gradients are gentler, but conditions underfoot are often uneven and muddy, as the riverside path to Withypool has suffered flood damage over the years. From Tarr Steps you head along the riverside path which does become uneven over rocks along the edge of the river for a relatively short stretch, although this can be wet. There are also spots which will be muddy in between tree roots. Having said that, it is a magical stretch of the walk, as the sunlight plays through the branches and leaves of the trees and you listen to the water of the river as it tumbles over rocks. After a while there is a charming stretch through riverside meadows before an ascent into woods above Withypool. At Withypool there is the Royal Oak Inn that you pass as you enter the village and a tea-room closer to the bridge. From Withypool you ascend from the village through fields and then follow a quiet lane gently uphill until it reaches moorland. The track crosses the moorland above the wide valley affording wonderful views and from here you can see the historic Landacre Bridge. Exmoor ponies may be seen in this area too. The track across the moor is wide and easy before you drop down slightly to follow the river more closely. Ahead is Cow Castle, an iron age fort, and beautiful wildflower meadows along the riverbank. In high summer there are splashes of orange crocosmia along the route here. It can be boggy and wet underfoot before you reach the higher ground as the path tracks around Cow Castle. There is more beautiful riverbank before you reach the remains of Wheal Eliza, once a copper mine. From here to Simonsbath the path has been restored for all levels and it’s quite wide and relatively flat as you follow it slightly above the river at this point. Simonsbath has places to stay and eat.
Distance: About 11 miles
Time: About 5.5 hours

This is the final stage of the Two Moors Way and it’s a fitting end to the route with what can be a demanding day with the ground underfoot being rough and boggy as you climb out of Simonsbath and the valley through the Ashcombe Plantation onto moorland towards the source of the River Exe and the watershed. You cross the Chains, Exmoor’s highest and remotest area, which rise to 1599 ft (487m) and usually displaying white cotton grass in high summer. You follow the side of the valley of Hoaroak Water to reach the Hoar Oak tree which marks the boundary of the Royal Forest and which stands on the Devon-Somerset border. Here you re-entre Devon and then proceed over more high ground at Cheriton Ridge. Views to the east are towards Brendon Common and beyond that Doone Country, which inspired R D Blackmore’s novel Lorna Doone. You enter the woodland of the National Trust’s Coombe Park which incorporates one of the largest areas of semi-natural woodland in the southwest. There are tremendous views over the wooded, steep valley of the East Lyn river and patches of sea to be spied ahead. Following Coombe Park wood is the National Trust’s Watersmeet House, at the confluence of the Hoaroak and East Lyn rivers. You pass the iron age enclosure of Myrtleberry South and then enjoy the spectacular views as the East Lyn runs through Myrtleberry Cleave. There is still some uphill climbing with a zigzag just before, finally, there is a long descent into Lynmouth.
Distance: About 12 miles
Time: About 6 hours