Tor of the Moor
Chagford
The Chagford Common Circuit
Location: Chagford Common, TQ13 8EU
Distance: 4.6 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Tors covered 7: Stonehill Tor, Lower Thornworthy Tor, Thornworthy Tor, Frenchbeer Rock, Middle Tor, Kestor & Little Kestor.
Nearest Pub: The Globe Inn, The Chagford Inn and The Three Crowns, all in Chagford.
A beautiful part of the moors, off the beaten track and a little quieter than the surrounding areas. This route takes you around the common and up to all of the Tors, with spectacular views all the way, particularly of Fernworthy Reservoir. This area is steeped in history with lots of stone circles and roundhouses to be found.
The Long Road Home
Location: Gidleigh TQ13 8HS
Distance: 7.2 Miles
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
Tors covered 2: Scorhill Tor & Stonetor
Nearest Pub: The Northmore Arms, Wonson
This route starts at Scorhill Common and takes you over the clapper bridges alongside the North Teign River to Teignhead Farm, a derelict farm which was abadoned during the war. Lots of beautiful open spaces, quaint clapper bridges and dartmoor history!
The Watern Pilgrimage
Location: Gidleigh TQ13 8HS
Distance: 9.75 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Tors covered 6: Rippator, Little Hound Tor, Hound Tor, Wild Tor, Watern Tor and Watern Down Tor
Nearest Pub: The Northmore Arms, Wonson
Another route starting from Scorhill common, this time heading North West up onto the high moor adjacent to Okehampton range. A beautiful route with rolling hills and minimal climbing. The paths along this route are a bit beaten up which can sometimes be tricky to navigate without staring at the floor, but generally this is a nice easy route, albeit long. Watern Tor is regarded as one of the most unusual Tors and one of the most photogenic and so it is a must-bag!
The Two Commons Loop
Location: Gidleigh TQ13 8HS
Distance: 4.8 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Tors covered 6: Scorhill Tor, Kestor, Little Kes Tor, North Park Tor, Gidleigh Tor, Little Gidleigh Tor
This loop starts at Scorhill Common and moves across to Chagford common, over the clapper bridge up to Kestor. It then heads down through Gidleigh Forest, back onto the lanes and up to the car park. Gidleigh forest is a working forestry business so please take note of signage.
The Piddledown Loop
Location: Drewsteignton, EX6 6QN
Distance: 3.1 Miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Tors covered 2: Sharp Tor & Hunters Tor
Nearest Pub: The Drewe Arms, Drewsteignton
This route leads you through the village of Drewsteignton then onto footpaths which will take you down to the river and back up the hill to Piddledown. The hill is quite steep on the other side but you cover most of the climb very quickly. You then join the National Trust paths around Castle Drogo before using the lanes to walk back to Drewsteignton. Unfortunately this route is not suitable for riders.
Moretonhampstead
Easy Up, Eas-y-don Loop
Location: North Bovey
Distance: 2.9 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Tors covered 4: Bowda Tor, Figgie Daniel, Easdon Tor, Leaning Rocks Tor
Nearest Pub: The Ring of Bells, North Bovey
Easdon Down is an island of moorland with stunning 360 views spanning for miles around. Accessible to walkers, dog owners and horse riders, this is a fantastic spot for all. Our route takes you through the forest and up onto the hill for the best of both worlds. We found that the paths on this route were quite dense with bracken and gorse to begin with, so please be aware of this and bring a phone/map in case they lead you astray!
The Manaton 5 Loop
Location: Manaton
Distance: 5 Miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Tors covered 10: Fernstone Tor, Neadon Cleave South Tor, Harton Chest, Sharpitor, Hammerslake Tor, Ravens Tor Foxworthy Tor, Hunters Tor, Neadon Cleave Tor and Tanglewood Tor
Nearest Pub: The Ring of Bells, North Bovey
Starting in Manaton village, this route is very up and down, with lots of steep climbs up and down and quite a precarious crossing of the river over some mighty boulders. These boulders look doable from the riverbank but are very slippy, with some nice ankle breaker holes between them so be careful in wet weather. Part of this route takes you through the East Dartmoor Nature reserve near Becky Falls and is lovely indigenous woodland. The rocks and Tors in the forest are really impressive, with giant rock formations unlike many others you find on the open moor. You eventually reach the top of the hill which is the much more familiar moorland
Teign Valley (Coming soon)
Bovey Tracey
The Haytor Trail
Location: Haytor, TQ13 9XT
Distance: 3.1 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Tors covered 4: Haytor, Saddle Tor, Lowman Tor & Holwell Tor
Nearest Pub: The Rock Inn, Haytor (Occassionally not dog friendly)
We have always referred to Haytor as the Alton Towers of Dartmoor due to the sheer volume of visitors that it receives. It is one of the busiest parts of the moor, but no less beautiful and once you pass Haytor itself, the numbers of people you come across drops dramatically. The scenery is amazing in every direction with panoramic views spanning across Torbay.
The Bagtor Trail
Location: Haytor, TQ13 9XT
Distance: 1.4 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Tors covered 1: Bag Tor
Nearest Pub: The Rock Inn, Haytor (Occasionally not dog friendly)
The smaller quieter brother loop of Haytor! Same car park but different direction and a much lesser known path. Half the distance of the Haytor route and a good alternative if Haytor is really busy.
The Blackslade Loop
Location: Haytor, TQ13 9XT
Distance: 2.7 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Tors covered 5: Rippon Tor, Pil Tor, Little Pil Tor, Hollow Tor & Top Tor (And Nut Crackers Logan Stones)
Nearest Pub: The Rock Inn, Haytor (Occasionally not dog friendly)
Just behind Haytor, this route is popular with local dog walkers. The views from Rippon Tor are breathtaking and dare I say it, even better than the view from Haytor! A fairly quiet route which is easygoing but very rewarding.
Wind Tor
Location: Widecombe in the Moor, TQ13 7TA
Distance: 1.5 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Tors covered 1: Wind Tor
Nearest Pub: The Old Inn and The Rugglestone Inn both in Widecombe.
A quick, leisurely route with little to no climbing involved, perfect for nipping the dog out for a quick walk whilst enjoying the view!
Honey Bagging
Location: Widecombe in the Moor, TQ13 7TA
Distance: 2 Miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Tors covered 3: Bell Tor, Chinkwell Tor & Honeybag Tor
Nearest Pub: The Old Inn and The Rugglestone Inn both in Widecombe.
A route that is popular with photographers as you can admire the sunset setting over Widecombe with some stunning valley views (as you can see, we clearly weren't prepared!). Parts of this walk are quite steep but you can take a longer route which levels out if need be.
