Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Longer, self-guided hikes that encompass Dartmoor include the 117-mile Two Moors
Way (
Click here
) and the 18-mile (two to three day) Templar Way.
Good bases for hikers are Princetown, with its key visitor centre, Okehampton and
Widecombe-in-the-Moor.
Exmoor National Park
While Dartmoor is bigger, 267-sq-mile Exmoor National Park has a different asset - the
sea. A compelling 34 miles of jaw-dropping, leg-testing coastline. Add ancient woods,
time-warp villages, red deer and Exmoor ponies and you have a winner for walkers.
The ENPA runs a superbly varied program of guided walks (adults £3 to £5; children
free). These include deer watching at dawn, stargazing, night- time navigation and fungi
foraging. The ENPA also produces a series of walking cards outlining day hikes; staff can
also advise.
Long-distance, self-guided hikes linked to Exmoor include the 117-mile Two Moors
Way (
Click here
), and the 36-mile Coleridge Way (
Click here
)
.
Two of Exmoor's best bases for hikers are the twin, coastal villages of Lynton and Lyn-
mouth, both starting points for splendid gorge-side hikes. Sleepy Dulverton on the moor's
southern edge opens up a cracking 12-mile circular walk via Tarr Steps. Picturesque Ex-
ford is a good centre-of-the-moor walking base.
Bodmin Moor
Not to be outdone, Cornwall has its own moor, Bodmin. Ruined tin mines dot an atmo-
spheric, mystical landscape of bogs, Stone Age sites and high tors (hills), making for a
moody hiking environment. Highlights include walks from the ancient mining village of
Minions, with its own stone circle, and the high tors of Rough Tor and Brown Willy.
A logical base is Bodmin, which has the distinct feel of a moorland settlement.
Other Walking Routes
Two Moors Way
(
www.devon.gov.uk/walking/two_moors_way
)
A coast-to-coast epic (117 miles, eight days) from
Lynmouth on Exmoor, across Devon and Dartmoor to Wembury, on the south coast.
Coleridge Way
(
www.coleridgeway.co.uk
) This 36-mile (three- to four-day) jaunt runs from Exmoor to the Quantocks,
in the footsteps of the poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
