Lyd to the Lew

David Simkins

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This walk will take you from Bowden Down where we start, out and over the River Lyd, through woodland and farmland and over the site of an 9th Century battle before reaching the banks of the River Lew. If you time your walk right you could then visit Lewtrenchard Manor for afternoon tea. (Look it up on the internet; this is how it describes itself: ... this is a Jacobean Manor tucked away in its own secret valley, just beneath the wild tors of Dartmoor. Lewtrenchard is a house virtually untouched by time. The original manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book, but today's impressive Jacobean dwelling, set in its own shrub-filled gardens and surrounded by peaceful parkland, dates from the early 1600s). The house was occupied by Sabine Baring-Gould, a hymn-writer famous for 'Onward Christian Soldiers'. There are some splendid views on the route, which does mean walking uphill, perhaps the most notable being that of Brentor Church perched on top of a very pointy hill.

You will encounter woodland, farmland, minor lanes, secluded houses and a thatched cottage and walk a bit on The Two Castles Way, which is a long-distance walk between Okehampton and Launceston Castles. If you want to avoid walking down from Bowden Down and then back up at the end of the walk, you could park at the bottom of the hill and take a short cut along a minor road. I have called it a moderate walk as there are some long uphill bits, but most of it is easy.

England - South West England - Devon - Countryside