Bovey Valley 9½ km or 6 miles


1. Turn right from the Station Road car park (S), and cross the bridge over the River Bovey. Continue up the main street through the town, passing the Town Hall on your left, and on up the hill until you reach the left turn into Trough Lane, just before the Parish Church (A) – 800m. 2. Walk up this steep lane and continue up a track where the road turns right. The track passes a communications mast and climbs steeply to end where a road joins from the left. Continue on the road climbing more gently to the next bend when you will find a gate on the left into Bearacleave wood (B) – 800m. 3. Follow the main path through the woods until it drops down a hill through an avenue of beech trees and meets a cross track. Turn left and very shortly go through a gate on the right next to a map board and ‘Permitted Path’ signpost into Shaptor Woods. Follow the well trodden path through the woods for a considerable distance, climbing much of the time, until you come to a signpost (C) – 2.2km. 4. Take the left hand path (actually almost straight ahead) signed ‘County Road near Slade Cross’ and, now almost level, it will take you to a stile which you cross and shortly afterwards come to a track. Cross the track and take a narrower unsigned path opposite which descends steeply to another track, at which point you will see a yellow waymark. Crossing this track, the path continues to descend through fir woods. After passing an old cistern on your right, it follows a garden fence on the left before climbing briefly to pass through a gate. Continue alongside the hedge to pass through another gate, turn right and then almost immediately left (with a path signpost in the hedge). At the end of the hedges bear slightly right to a stile. The path then continues between woods and farmland to a tarmac lane. Turn left and descend the short distance to Slade Cross (D) – 1.2km. 5. Taking care, cross the A382 and take the lane opposite. Follow it for some distance; after a sharp left turn (ignore the track ahead) it drops steadily down Hatherleigh Lane to a junction where you turn right into another lane which will bring you to a road junction near a newly reinstated bridge (E) – 1.8km. 6. Go through the gate in front of you and up to the line of the old railway. Cross this and take the path opposite down to the bank of the River Bovey. Keeping it on your right, follow the river downstream through the woods. Ignore the footbridge you pass shortly and also in due course a stone bridge. After that, the path crosses a stream, takes you up round a rocky outcrop and then down and round an area of grassland (still with the river on your right) to take you up a few steps onto the railway path. Turn right to cross the river and then shortly bear left to rejoin the river (now on your left) and follow the path which takes you under the main road next to the river. Continue on the now tarmac path to come out into Station Road by the bridge with the car park almost opposite – 2.6km.


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