Dartmoor Way Circular Walk 1 - Moretonhampstead to North Bovey (5 miles)

Our randomly-picked start point on the Dartmoor Way was Moretonhampstead. This had the advantage of a decent car park with public loos, and in non-Covid times you could celebrate the end of the walk with a pub meal. 

Just a short walk up the road from the car park, we spotted our first one of these. 

A beautiful little path leads down to the Wadley Brook, and then you go uphill through some fields. At the very top of the big hill is a bench with a great view, perfect for a picnic or coffee stop. 

Most of this section is through fields, coming out onto a quiet lane just before North Bovey. We did run into a problem just before when the path was blocked by a live electric fence, but a bit of an undignified crouch and slither got us all past safely, if a little ruffled. 

North Bovey is a great find. The village green gave us somewhere to rest in the shade and have a snack (or lunch), and the Ring Of Bells Inn looked nice if you can afford £8 for a sandwich. Heading downhill, spotting the purple badges at reassuring intervals, we got to the stepping stones. Allow lots of time for playing here before carrying on! 

Not far down the track, we left the DW and turned left up a well-signposted footpath. This bit was on the steep side but very pretty and well marked, so you would be hard-pressed to get lost. At Narramore Farm, bear in mind that you have to go through the gateway to the farm and then almost immediately turn left to cross the fence by a stile. 

Speaking of stiles, be prepared. There are approximately 6,748 of them. We started off trying to help Ben over them and soon realised (after he ended up dangling by one hand and an ankle, hooting with laughter) that he was best left to himself. His developing technique turned out to be quite effective, if a bit like a Thelwell pony cartoon. 

The end of the walk is a long uphill slog along a road but there were hardly any cars so it wasn’t particularly tricky with the children, and there were plenty of cows to wave at. 

Back in Moretonhampstead, we celebrated with special chocolates. I need to get a supply of them as it was generally agreed that this should become a tradition for the end of every DW walk.