Bovey Tracey Walks
The town of Bovey Tracey sits in a fine walking location on the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. There's some excellent local trails through the Bovey Valley, acres of local woodland and popular hill climbs to ancient forts. The town itself is also worth exploring with a Grade I listed 14th century church and the House of Marbles, a visitor attraction on the site of the historic pottery.
This walk from the town visits some of the highlights of the area including Becky Falls, Houndtor Wood, Sharpitor and Lustleigh Cleave.
The walk starts in the town centre where you can pick up the Dartmoor Way and follow the waymarked footpath north west to Drakeford Bridge, passing through the pretty River Bovey Valley. You then turn west and follow woodland trails through Pullbrook Wood to Houndtor Wood, passing Trendlebere Down where there's the East Dartmoor Woods and Heath Nature Reserve. Continue west and you will soon come to the lovely Becky Falls, a popular local beauty spot.
The route continues north past Deal Cottage, Freeland, Manaton and Horsham before coming to Foxworthy Bridge. Here you turn south east to pass through Lustleigh Cleave. The Cleave (or 'cliff') is a great place for walkers with lots of footpaths and interesting flora and fauna. Look out for wildlife including deer, butterflies and the dipper bird by the river. In the spring you can also see lots of bluebells and foxgloves.
The route continues east past Sharpitor rocks to the village of Lustleigh where you could stop for refreshments. Near here you pick up the Dartmoor Way again retrace your steps back to Bovey Tracey.
Postcode
TQ13 9AE - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locationsBovey Tracey Ordnance Survey Map 
- view and print off detailed OS map
Bovey Tracey Open Street Map 
- view and print off detailed map
Bovey Tracey OS Map 
- Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking
Bovey Tracey Open Street Map 
- Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking
Walks near Bovey Tracey
- Dartmoor Way - This epic long distance circular walk takes you on a tour of the wonderful Dartmoor National Park.On the circular route you will pass Okehampton, Chagford, Moretonhampstead, Buckfastleigh, Princetown, Foggintor Quarry and Tavistock as you make your way around this circular route
- Becky Falls - This is a circular walk in the Dartmoor's Bovey Valley visiting the beautiful Becky Falls and other local landmarks, beauty spots and villages
- Lustleigh Cleave - The village of Lustleigh is in a nice position for exploring a lovely part of the Dartmoor National Park
- Yarner Woods - This large woodland area near Bovey Tracey is part of the East Dartmoor Woods and Heaths National Nature Reserve. It's a great area for walking with miles of woodland paths to follow. The area is dominated by ancient oak but there are other species such as birch, scots pine, larch and beech. Other flora includes flowers such as cow-wheat and bilberry, and various Lichens and mosses.
- Hound Tor - Hound Tor is considered one of the best view points in the Dartmoor National Park
- Trenchford and Tottiford Reservoir - Enjoy an easy walk around these two pretty reservoirs in the Dartmoor National Park
- Chudleigh - This Devon based town is located in a good spot close to the Dartmoor National Park and the River Teign Valley.
- Moretonhampstead - This small Devon town is often described as the gateway to the Dartmoor National Park making it a fine place to start a walk
- Fingle Bridge and Woods - Explore the delightful woods around Fingle Bridge and visit the Iron Age Hill Fort of Wooston Castle on this woodland walk in Dartmoor
- Castle Drogo - Explore the delightful gardens and wider estate surrounding this country house in Drewsteignton, Devon.This is one of the classic circular walks in Dartmoor taking you from Castle Drogo to Fingle Bridge along the wonderful Hunters Path
- Canonteign Falls - This country park in Dartmoor consists of woodland trails, beautiful lakes and the stunning Canonteign Falls
- Scorhill Stone Circle - This walk visits the Scorhill Stone Circle and the Wallabrook Clapper Bridge in the Teign Valley of Dartmoor.
- Wray Valley Trail - This shared cycling and walking trail runs along a dismantled railway line from Moretonhampstead to Bovey Tracey in Devon.
- Dunsford Daffodil Circular Walk - This circular walk explores the Dunsford Nature Reserve in the Devon village of Dunsford
- Bowermans Nose - This popular circular walk climbs to Bowerman's Nose in the Dartmoor National Park
Pubs/Cafes
Back in the town The Cromwell Arms is a good choice for some post walk refreshment. The historic 17th century inn serves good quality food and has a lovely large garden area to relax in. You can find them on Fore Street at postcode TQ13 9AE for your sat navs.
Dog Walking
The country, river and woodland on the route makes for a fine dog walk. The Cromwell Arms mentioned above is also dog friendly.
Further Information and Other Local Ideas
Just to the south east of the town there's the Little Bradley Ponds Nature Reserve where you look out for lots of birdlife on the water. The Chudleigh Knighton Heath Reserve and Clay Works are a little further on from there also.
The Wray Valley Trail starts in the village. The shared cycling and walking route runs along a disused railway line to Lustleigh and Moretonhampstead.
Near Manaton you can climb to the noteworthy Bowerman's Nose. The photogenic rock formation is located in a scenic spot on Hayne Down. The distinctive stack appears on many postcards and calendars of the area.
For more walking ideas in the area see the Devon Walks and the Dartmoor Walks pages.
Photos
Station Road in the town.
Bovey Tracey Pottery Pond. The pond was created to supply water power to the pottery factory a few hundred metres away. Now it is a wildlife sanctuary.
Dolphin Hotel.
Bovey Tracey cricket ground and pavilion
Dartmoor: Becky Falls. From a strictly physical geographical point of view this is the Becka Falls waterfall on the Becka Brook, which is a tributary of the River Bovey. The water cascades here over a boulder-strewn bed with a fall of about 70 feet or about 20 metres. However the land in which they occur is privately owned, and the owners have unsurprisingly turned the site into a tourist attraction in which the falls are the centrepiece of a woodland park containing a variety of different features such as a children's zoo, pony paddocks, and the inevitable gift shop. In the course of this commercialization the name of the falls has metamorphosed from Becka, as shown on the OS 1940s map, into Becky, as shown on the current OS map. The falls were first made accessible to the public in 1903.
On Lustleigh Cleave
View from Sharpitor
Meadow, Bovey valley. The Parke estate is a mixture of woodland and meadows, the latter on the Bovey floodplain. Here a gate provides access from the riverside path to a meadow beside the wooded railway embankment.