Walks in South West England

Walking in the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire

Being a Northerner most of my walking is naturally done in areas close to home, but there are other parts of Great Britain which have a special attraction to me. The counties of South West England are such places, for not only do they have fabulous coastlines and the iconic South West Coast Path to draw walkers from far and wide, but they have many inland treats too such as Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor, Exmoor, the Quantock Hills, the Blackdown Hills, the Mendips, and the Dorset Downs. I can't access them often, but when I do I enjoy them to the full as this selection of spectacular walks demonstrates. And keep checking out this section — I aim to add more and more walks to it in the future.

Interactive Map of the Walks

Available Walking Routes in South West England

Walk	Miles	Grade	Description
Avebury Stone Circle, The Sanctuary, West Kennett Long Barrow and Silbury Hill	5.4	Easy	Quite simply this is the most famous ancient archaeological walk in England.
Bodmin Moor	11.0	Hard	A lovely walk on the north side of Bodmin Moor starting from Five Lanes to the heights of Brown Willy and Rough Tor.
Looe to Fowey	12.2	Hard	Bridge the two popular coastal towns on a 12-mile walk with Polperro a lovely halfway point for lunch.
Penzance to Land's End	15.2	Hard	Mousehole and Lamorna Cove are highlights of the day, before Land's End of course.
Coverack to Mullion	15.4	Hard	A quite long day on the South West Coast Path, but there is the highlight of a visit to Lizard Point on the route.
Yes Tor and High Willhays	15.4	Strenuous	A wonderful walk from Sticklepath onto the wonderful landscape of north Dartmoor and a visit to its inspiring twin peaks.
Mawnan Smith to Coverack	16.4	Hard	A moderate walk on a section of the South West Coast Path with a short boat trip across Helford River.
Kingsand to Looe	17.3	Hard	A 16-mile walk on Cornwall's spectacular south-east coastline with Rame Head and Kerveel Beach being highlights.
Mullion to Penzance	19.5	Strenuous	A spectacular section of the Cornish Coastal Path with disused tin mines and St Michael's Mount to enjoy during the day.
Portloe to Mawnan Smith	20.8	Strenuous	A 14-mile coast path walk with the delight of a rest while taking the water taxi across Falmouth Bay.
Fowey to Portloe	28.9	Strenuous	A monster coastal walk for the super-fit only; this 27-mile epic is a serious undertaking and a real challenge.
From the Great British Walk	—	—	Selected stages from the Great British Walk across the South West.
Bath to Compton Martin	20.7	Strenuous	Bath, Prior Park, Dunkerton, Carlingcott, Camerton, Radford, Paulton, Hallatrow, Temple Cloud, Hinton Blewitt, West Harptree, Compton Martin.
Compton Martin to Axbridge	9.3	Moderate	Compton Blewitt, Hazel Park, Blackmoor Nature Reserve, Velvet Bottom, Black Rock, Cheddar Gorge, Cheddar, Axbridge.
Axbridge to Burnham on Sea	14.9	Hard	Axbridge, Strawberry Line, King's Wood, Wavering Down, West Mendip Way, Crook Peak, Webbington, Loxton, Bleadon, Berrow, Burnham on Sea.
Burnham on Sea to Bridgwater	11.7	Moderate	Burnham on Sea, River Parrett, Bridgwater Bay, Alstone, Huntspill, Stretcholt, Bridgwater.
Bridgwater to Wellington	19.2	Strenuous	Bridgwater, King's Cliff, Rooks Castle Wood, Kingston St Mary, Norton Hillfort, Norton Fitzwarren, River Tone, Bradford on Tone, Wellington.
Wellington to Tiverton	16.4	Hard	Wellington, Great Western Canal, Harpford Bridge, Cothay Manor, Waytown Limekilns, Ayshford Chapel, Sampford Peverell, Halberton, East Manley, Tiverton.
Tiverton to Morchard Bishop	14.2	Hard	Tiverton, River Exe, Black Down, Way Village, Poughill, Binneford Water, Kennerleigh, Barton Cross, Morchard Bishop.
Morchard Bishop to South Zeal	17.1	Hard	Morchard Bishop, Two Moors Way, Down St Mary, Tuckingmill, Zeal Monachorum, North Tawton, Tarka Trail, Taw Green, South Tawton, South Zeal.
South Zeal to Stowford	19.9	Strenuous	South Zeal, Sticklepath, Belstone Cleave, Dartmoor, Scarey Tor, Rowtor, Yes Tor, High Willhays, Meldon Reservoir, Sourton Taws, Tor Wood, Granite Way, Cranford Brook, Watergate, Lewtrenchard, Stowford.
Stowford to Five Lanes	17.0	Hard	Stowford, Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre, River Wolf, Lifton, River Tamar, Launceston, Tregadillett, Polyphant, Five Lanes.
Five Lanes to St Breward	9.6	Moderate	Five Lanes, Altarnun, Trewint Downs, Leskernick Hill, Bodmin Moor, Source of River Fowey, Brown Willy, Rough Tor, Fenacre Stone Circle, Churchtown, St Breward.
St Breward to Indian Queens	21.0	Strenuous	St Breward, Lower Lank, Wenford Dries, Camel Trail, Shell Woods, Boscarne Junction, Tremorebridge, Demelza, Tregonetha, Indian Queens.
Indian Queens to Truro	13.9	Hard	Indian Queens, Penhale, St Enoder, Mitchell, Trispen, Lanner Mill, Idless Woods, Truro.
Truro to Gweek	15.9	Hard	Truro, Ponsanooth, Polkanuggo, Halvosso, Constantine, Gweek.
Gweek to Lizard Point	14.5	Hard	Gweek, Mawgan, Poldhu Cove, Mullion Cove, Predannack Head, Kynance Cove, Lizard Point.

Feedback and Suggestions

I am always pleased to receive feedback on the structure and content of the website. I also welcome suggestions on how I can improve the website which may include new areas to cover, new walks or route alterations to existing walks. To get in touch with feedback and/or suggestions please contact me on one of my social media links. Thank you.

(Note: Walking without proper preparation can be dangerous. Information and downloads on this website are provided free of charge; it is each walker's responsibility to check the material and use accordingly. Postscript: My walk reports are not route guides and should not be treated as such. They are written with personal reflections of my walks.)

Walks by Region Homepage

Walks in South West England

Walking in the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire

Available Walking Routes in South West England

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