Devon heathland, farmland and woodland, with a pretty village midway.
Description
(S/E) From The Little Haldon car park, turn left and left again (signposted to Luton and Ideford). Follow the road downhill through heathland for 1⁄2 a mile.
(1) At a junction, carry straight on. After a further 1⁄2-mile, keep straight on at the next junction when the main lane swings left. Keep straight on at the next road junction, passing between houses to a T-junction beyond a bridge over a stream.
(2) Turn left and walk past Luton church. At the next junction, go straight on over a concrete footbridge by a seasonal ford. The lane swings left; at a T-junction, turn right along a surfaced track with encroaching vegetation on either side.
(3) Pass a barn and bear right to a roughly surfaced track, where you turn left. Follow the track as it winds through fields for 1⁄2 mile until you reach a road by a house. Turn left, then follow the road round to the right at the end of a (private) track to a barn.
(4) Take the next left, with a sign reading “Unsuitable for motor vehicles”. Follow the stony green lane uphill and into woodland. Swing right and left as you continue to climb through the trees, and then similarly left and right, always keeping to the main track.
(5) The track levels off as you reach open heathland, before reaching the road, where you turn left. A little way before the crossroads at the end of the walk, you can join a path along the edge of the golf course on the right to avoid the tarmac before reaching The Little Haldon car park (S/E)
Waypoints
- S/E : km 0 - alt. 238 m - The Little Haldon car park
- 1 : km 0.75 - alt. 192 m - Bridge over a stream
- 2 : km 1.97 - alt. 97 m - Luton church
- 3 : km 2.5 - alt. 94 m - Barn
- 4 : km 3.63 - alt. 130 m - Woodland
- 5 : km 4.99 - alt. 245 m - Open heathland - Road
- S/E : km 5.71 - alt. 238 m - The Little Haldon car park
Useful Information
Allow 2 hours. One long gradual climb, and some road walking.
Combine this walk with the Haldon Moor walk (above and see map) for a 7-mile figure-of-eight circuit, or drive to the Car Park : Free car park on Little Haldon Heath, 21⁄2 miles from the Cockhaven: turn left out of the car park and left again into The Orchard, then right along Bishops Avenue. Turn right (Fore Street) then left at the Ring of Bells (Radway Hill). Keep right at Manor Road, then turn left signposted to Haldon and Exeter (Old Walls Hill). After 1 mile, turn right to the B3192, where you turn left. Take the next left, across a golf course. The car park is to the left of the next crossroads.
Pdf file : http://walksfromthedoor.co.uk/i/walks/De...
Cockhaven Arms
Bishopsteignton, Devon
TQ14 9RF
Tel 01626 77 52 52
Email contact@cockhavenarms.co.uk
Web www.cockhavenarms.co.uk
Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.
During the walk or to do/see around
- The main remnant of the Bishop’s Palace, in use from the 13th to 16th centuries, is the former chapel, now incorporated into farm buildings.
- Ness Beach near Shaldon is excitingly approached via the Smugglers’ Tunnel; in reality, it was probably built to transport lime from the beach or as private access for a local aristocrat.
- The pretty village of Stokeinteignhead repays exploration.
- Wildlife: The Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus) is a rare relative of the Yellowhammer and a speciality of South Devon, where much work has been done to boost the population. Listen out for its rattling song from bushes and hedges around Labrador Bay and Stokeinteignhead.
