How far can you travel on One Bus From Exeter? In about an hour you can get to Honiton, Sidmouth, Exmouth, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Newton Abbot, Bovey Tracey, Moretenhampstead, Chagford, Okehampton, North Tawton, Chulmleigh, Witheridge, Tiverton, or Willand. You won't need to find a parking space - and you won't have to return to your car. You can walk along the East Devon Way, or the South West Coast Path, or the Exe Valley Way and return by another bus. Find the quiet places. Avoid the traffic congestion of last year. Step more lightly on the Earth.

Back in the early 2000s, I walked the Tarka Trail and the North Devon part of the South West Coast Path in sections. I would get a bus to a town or village on the Tarka Trail, walk 5 to 10 miles and then return on another bus. One Bus from Exeter is a return to that idea. One Bus From Exeter was to going to start with step 4 out of national lockdown, however infection rates are still high. Use this site to plan your walks, look at the Covid19 data on the Devon Dashboard, listen to the science and exercise your personal responsibility.  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do 

 

Devon is criss-crossed by a network of long distance footpaths and public transport routes. Let's re-explore these routes when we can travel safely. 

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Bus Services

The following bus routes can be used to take a day-trip from Exeter into the beauty Devon countryside.

         

         

     

 

Devon Day Bus Ticket

The Devon Day ticket gives you the freedom to use all local bus services in Devon (including Plymouth and Torbay) operated by the following bus companies:

Axe Valley Mini Travel, Country Bus, Dartline, Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company, Filers Travel, Hatch Green, Oakleys Coaches, Plymouth City Bus, Stagecoach South West (Not Falcon or night services N12, N21, N57) Tally Ho and Taw & Torridge.

For full details see Devon Day Leaflet

Where to buy: Tickets can be bought from the driver of any of the listed bus companies.

Prices May 2021: Fares are as follows: £9.60 adult, £6.40 child (age 5 to 15 inclusive) and £19.20 family (maximum two adults and three children)

https://www.traveldevon.info/bus/tickets/day-tickets/ 

 


Featured Walks

 

Walks From Exeter

Keep healthy in Exeter by using walking and cycling. Get buses to find new walks when it is safe to do so. Exeter is full of relaxing or energetic walks.

  • Stroll by the River Exe and the Exeter Ship Canal
  • Train for a marathon by walking or running the Exeter Cosy Routes
  • Visit the green lungs of Exeter by walking Exeter's Green Circle
  • Look for wildlife on the River Exe Wild Walk
  • Go farther by cycling the Exe Estuary Trail or walking the Exe Valley Way and the Devonshire Heartland Way

Use this site to plan your walks, look at the Covid19 data on the Devon Dashboard, listen to the science and exercise your personal responsibility as well as our body and mind.

 

Topsham, Exminster and Countess Wear

Explore the patchwork of RSPB and Devon Wildlife Trust nature reserves at the head of the Exe Estuary. Thousands of wading birds rest and feed on the mudflats at low tide. As the tide rises, the birds are pushed closer to the many viewing points on the network of footpaths and cycle-ways connects these havens of wildlife to the centre of Exeter. The RSPB hide at Bowling Green Marsh is a great place at high tide, hundreds of ducks and waders visit the site during autumn and winter.

 

 

 

 

 

Walks in the Bovey Basin

Bovey Tracey is a wonder place to start walking.

From Bovey Tracey you can walk to the Parke Estate or Little Bradley Pools.

Walk a little farther to Chudleigh Knighton Heath or take a Wild Walk through these Devon Wildlife Trust reserves.

Follow the Templer Way up to Haytor, or down to Bovey Heathfield or Teigngrace Meadows on your way to Newton Abbot or Teignmouth.

The Wray Valley Trail will take you to Moretonhamsptead along the path of the old railway.

The Dartmoor Way walking route takes the high road to Moretonhampstead via North Bovey and the edge of the moors, or goes south to Ashburton via Yarner Woods. 

 


Walks

 

Clyst Valley Trail

The Clyst Valley Trail is listed as a high priority route for delivery in the Devon County Council’s multiuse trail strategy. It also delivers on Strategy 10 (Green Infrastructure in East Devon’s West End) in the East Devon Local Plan, and the Climate Action plans of both Councils. The route will significantly contribute to an increase in walking and cycling levels which will reduce our carbon footprint and help enable households to rely less on cars for short distance journeys.

The route will be a recreational trail for walkers, cyclists, mobility scooters and, where feasible, horse riders. As well as allowing people in and around Exeter to enjoy and value the wonderful countryside of the new Clyst Valley Regional Park and East Devon, it will also provide an attractive, safe, and direct commuter route between towns and villages along the River Clyst and Exeter, Cranbrook and surrounding employment areas in the Exeter and East Devon Enterprise Zone and Winslade Park.

 

 Dartmoor Way

The Dartmoor Way cycle route is a 95 mile-long circular route which winds its way around the natural beauty of Dartmoor National Park, linking hamlets, villages and towns along its length. This recreational route takes cyclists through the varying landscape surrounding the High Moor, visiting attractive and interesting locations which offer a wide choice of places to eat, drink and stay for the night. The well-signed Dartmoor Way Cycle Route follows quiet Devon lanes and minor roads, and uses traffic-free cycle tracks wherever possible. http://www.dartmoorway.co.uk/home.php 

The Dartmoor Way walking route is a waymarked 108-mile (173km) long circular route around Dartmoor. The route explores wooded valleys; sparkling streams that tumble off the moor; deep drove-roads and bridleways used for generations by farmers and travellers. The route can be enjoyed all year round from the freshness and colours of Spring, through the glories of high Summer and wonderful colours of Autumn, to the stark beauty of Winter. 

https://www.dartmoorway.co.uk/ww/index.php 

Devonshire Heartland Way

Visit Mid Devon The Devonshire Heartland Way is an inland route for walkers, which is approximately 45 miles in length. It mainly uses ancient footpaths and bridleways and, in some places, minor country roads. This walk can be made shorter and joined at any point along route. For the benefit of readability, we have broken the route down into three sections: Okehampton to North Tawton, North Tawton to Crediton, and Crediton to Stoke Canon. Waymarkers displaying the Spindle Berry Flower are found along the route.

Walkers can make the most of connections to the Tarka Trail long distance footpath at North Tawton, the Two Moors Way long distance footpath at Colebrooke, or the Tarka Railway Line at Yeoford, Newton St Cyres or Crediton.

Accommodation, attractions and eateries can be found at points all along the route including the simple and quite unique church of St Mary’s at Honeychurch, The Waie Inn, Down St Mary Vineyard, Shobrooke Park, The Duck at Yeoford and Crediton Parish Church as well as the many shops and eateries in the market towns of North Tawton and Crediton.

https://www.visitmiddevon.co.uk/visit-mid-devon-walking-routes/devonshire-heartland-way/ 

 East Devon Way

This 38 mile/60km path takes you from Exmouth in the west to Lyme Regis, Dorset in the east, and follows footpaths, bridleways and stretches of quiet lanes. The route passes through the heart of the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), linking to the South West Coast Path, the beautiful Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and the Exe Estuary. You can pick up short sections of the trail from a number of easily accessible points. Along the way you will find the traditional Devon thatched cob cottages, villages dating back to Saxon times, ancient churches, prehistoric hill forts, oak beamed pubs, leafy lanes and glorious vistas of rolling green hills. The route forms a parallel alternative to the South West Coast Path and is comprehensively way-marked; just follow the sign of the foxglove. 

https://www.exploredevon.info/activities/walk/long-walks/east-devon-way/ 

 Erme - Plym Trail

This 15 mile/24km generally easy path takes in the pleasing environment of the Erme Valley south of Ivybridge, as well as following a cross-country route through attractive pastoral landscape. The trail runs from the attractive village of Wembury on Devon’s south coast to Ivybridge. The route is a gentle undulating stretch with views of Dartmoor dominating the northern skyline. A particular highlight is the crossing of Cofflete Creek, a tributary of the estuary of the River Yealm. After passing through the attractive villages of Brixton and Yealmpton, the northbound route reaches the Erme Valley which takes you on into Ivybridge. 

https://www.exploredevon.info/activities/walk/long-walks/erme-plym-trail-devons-coast-coast/ 

Exe Estuary Trail

This newly constructed cycle trail offers an almost entirely traffic-free, wonderfully level route which forms part of the South Coast NCN No.2.

The trail takes you right around the Exe Estuary from Dawlish to Exmouth, passing through the pretty villages of Starcross, Topsham and Lympstone to name a few.  The estuary is of international importance for wintering waders and wildfowl, supporting 1000’s of birds.  RSPB reserves near Topsham and Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve offer some of the best opportunities to view wildlife along the estuary. 

https://www.exploredevon.info/activities/cycle/exe-estuary-trail/ 

 

 

 

Exe Valley Way

This route from the Exe Estuary to the steeply wooded valleys on Exmoor follows, for the most part, quiet country lanes and footpaths along the Exe valley through Bickleigh, Tiverton and Bampton, Exebridge, Dulverton, Hawkridge and Withypool, then leaving the Exe Valley to reach Exford to which the Exe flows from its source at Exe Head. Mostly valley scenery, ranging from the broad estuary through pastoral landscapes and narrower, heavily-wooded valleys to open moorland landscapes.

An additional described section links Withypool to the source of the Exe to make a 'source to sea' route using the Two Moors Way (TMW), north, to Simonsbath, then following the TMW waymarkers for about another 3km/2miles high up on to the moor to Exe Head. Exe Head is the source of the River Exe, an area of marshy ground high up on Dure Down.

https://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Exe+Valley+Way 

 

 Grand Western Canal

The Grand Western Canal Country Park and Local Nature Reserve meanders for 11 and a quarter miles through beautiful countryside and quiet villages between the market town of Tiverton and the hamlet of Lowdwells (near the Somerset border). A well surfaced towpath adjacent to the Canal, provides ample opportunities for walking, running and cycling. Rangers have installed lots of benches throughout the park, to provide ideal places for visitors to sit and enjoy the peace and quiet. The Grand Western Canal forms part of the West Country Way Cycle Route (NCN3) which runs from Bristol to Padstow in Cornwall. 

https://www.devon.gov.uk/grandwesterncanal/ 

 John Musgrave Heritage Trail

The John Musgrave Heritage Trail is a 35 mile walking trail encompassing parts of Torbay, South Hams and Teignbridge. It was launched in March 2006 in memory of John Musgrave, a former chairman of the South Devon Group of the Ramblers, whose generous legacy to the group on his death in 2003 has been used to fund the development of the trail. John was an enthusiastic walker, leading walks in many of the areas through which the trail passes. 

http://www.southdevonramblers.com/content.php?id=jmht_the_trail 

 Pegasus Trail

This newly created walking, mountain-biking and horse-riding trail takes advantage mostly of quiet lanes and public bridleways will eventually link the Granite Way with the Ruby Way. The waymarked trail takes you from Dartmoor National Park at Meldon through West Devon and into Ruby Country, along a dismantled railway track and into Cookworthy Forest. It also affords excellent links to some exceptional bridleway networks and waymarked ‘Ruby Rides’. NOTE: the Trail is not yet complete as negotiations continue to complete the route in the vicinity of Ashbury Station. Check the map to see where the Trail currently starts and end (currently Meldon to Broadbury Castle Farm and Beamsworthy to Cookworthy Forest are open). 

https://www.exploredevon.info/activities/horse/pegasus-trail/ 

 Little Dart Ridge and Valley Walk

A link between the Tarka Trail and the Two Moors Way in North Devon. The route combines footpaths and minor lanes following the picturesque valley of the Little Dart River and the surrounding higher land. The walk is accessible by public transport at both ends. The walk starts at Eggesford Barton near the train station and heads towards Chawleigh and then Leigh Bridge where you join the river. The route continues to West and East Worlington before finishing at Witheridge. A three mile link to the quiet country market town of Chulmleigh can be taken from just beyond Eggesford. This is one of many walks that can be enjoyed using public transport. From Exeter, take the 155 service to Witheridge and return by the 5C service from Chulmleigh, Chawleigh or Eggesford Railway Station, or take the train.

https://ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Little+Dart+Ridge+and+Valley+Walk

 St Boniface Way

Throughout the pilgrimage route flow the interconnected themes of prayer, work and study. St Boniface would have been familiar with these as they formed the rhythms of his life as a Benedictine monk. Prayer is reflected in the churches visited en route and also by the inclination of the pilgrim as they undertake the pilgrimage. Along the route, the pilgrim will reflect on work especially as they journey past working farm land. Study is represented by the University chapel and in the heart of the pilgrim as they grow in their understanding of God. 

St Boniface Way begins at the birthplace of its namesake in Crediton. From Crediton, your pilgrimage will take you across fields, along river banks and through farmland. You will visit chocolate-box villages and countryside that inspired Jane Austen, before leaving the rural behind and entering Exeter via the University. However, even in the city, St Boniface Way will provide green spaces and places of reflection. At the end of the journey lies Exeter Cathedral and the invitation to join a service of Evensong.

Route: Crediton - Exeter Distance: 12.5 - 14.5 miles / 20 - 23.5 km

https://www.devonpilgrim.org.uk/route/st-boniface/  

 South West Coast Path

This long-distance walking trail boasts some of the most spectacular landscape, seascape, climate and vegetation to be found anywhere in the UK. To the north, the beautiful bay of Combe Martin, Ilfracombe’s picturesque harbour, the magnificent sweep of Saunton Sands and the dramatic cliff scenery around Hartland Point are all inspiring sights. To the south, the coast has many contrasts – from the city of Plymouth to the delightful estuaries of the South Hams; from the many dramatic headlands to the red cliffs of East Devon.

The South West Coast Path Association are the charity looking after the UK’s longest and best-loved National Trail. They believe everyone should have access to the South West Coast Path as a place to connect to nature, relax, exercise, and take time away from the stresses of daily life. With the help of their members, fundraisers, volunteers, and partners, they’re protecting and improving the Trail for the benefit of society now and in the future. They hope you enjoy the Path and consider supporting our cause. 

https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/ 

 Tarka Trail

The Tarka Trail is a series of footpaths and cyclepaths (rail trails) around north Devon, England that follow the route taken by the fictional Tarka the Otter in the book of that name. It covers a total of 180 miles (290 km) in a figure-of-eight route, centred on Barnstaple. https://www.tarkatrail.org.uk/

The 31-mile (50 km) section between Braunton and Meeth is car-free, level and mostly tarmacked, and is shared by pedestrians and cyclists, with horse riding also permitted on part of it. There is a guidebook available for this section. http://www.exploredevon.info/activities/cycle/tarka-trail-braunton-meeth/ 

 Templer Way

The Templer Way is a route for walkers linking Haytor on Dartmoor with the seaport of Teignmouth. It has a length of 18 miles/29km and covers a wide range of scenery from open moorland, woodland, meadow, historical tracks and urban land, through to estuary foreshore. Using a mixture of rights of way, permissive routes and minor roads, the Templer Way takes about 10 hours to walk. Tide times should be checked before setting out. The route may be tackled in short stretches or in one go and is waymarked in both directions, except on the open moorland at Haytor Down, where the granite rails of the tramway can be followed. 

https://www.exploredevon.info/activities/walk/long-walks/templer-way/ 

 Torbay - Totnes Trail

The Torbay Totnes Trail runs from Torquay Railway Station to Totnes Castle. The route between Cockington Country Park and Totnes is shared with the John Musgrave Heritage Trail. This route showcases the best inland scenery South Devon has to offer, on quiet way-marked footpaths and country lanes. You’ll see the picture postcard thatched cottages of Cockington, with an option to explore the Cockington Country park. You’ll pass Berry Pomeroy castle, supposedly one of the most haunted in the UK. And in between, South Devon’s rolling fields, woods and streams. 

http://railwalks.co.uk/totnestorbaytrailov/ 

 Two Castles Trail

The Two Castles Trail takes you through beautiful and peaceful countryside – from the edge of Dartmoor, past historic battlegrounds to the ancient town of Launceston. It links the medieval castles of Okehampton and Launceston.The route passes through a variety of landscapes, including moorland in the east, woodland and river valleys and, as well as the two castles themselves, gives insights into a wealth of historic interest along the way. 

https://www.exploredevon.info/activities/walk/long-walks/two-castles-trail/ 

 Two Moors Way

The original Two Moors Way spans 102 miles from Ivybridge on the southern boundary of Dartmoor National Park to Lynmouth on the North Devon coast in Exmoor National Park. If you wish to complete a Coast to Coast walk you can start at Wembury on the South Devon coast and follow the Erme-Plym trail to Ivybridge, adding around 15 miles. See the route charts for a detailed overview of the route. The entire route is waymarked in each direction in most places, but it does cross wild moorland and remote countryside where the weather can change quickly. You should therefore carry the relevant maps and know how to read them – a compass is also strongly advisable. https://twomoorsway.org/

 Wray Valley Trail

This trail is a great way to explore the Wray Valley, following in the footsteps of the Victorians who built the Newton Abbot to Moretonhampstead railway in 1866.

The 11km, mainly traffic free, route links Bovey Tracey to Moretonhampstead. It follows the line of the old railway, which was closed to passengers in 1959, taking you through the National Trust Parke Estate and past the picturesque villlage of Lustleigh.

The trail has been several years in the making and has involved major works including 2 new bridges across the A382. Devon County Council has worked with local landowners and Dartmoor National Park to ensure the trail will benefit everyone.

https://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/wildlife-and-heritage/dartmoor-story/dartmoor-story-pages/places/wray-valley 

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