BERE FERRERS QUAY TO HOLE FARM CIRCULAR WALK
START POINT GRID REF: 440 635

Joy and I celebrated New Years Day in the now familiar way, with a walk followed by a visit to friends. The walk was planned as a recce of a possible 4 mile circular walk suitable for a 2 hr Thursday evening ramble in the Summer.

With the thaw and the 2 inches of rain which fell in the area on New Years Eve we expected damp muddy conditions, surprisingly it wasn't as bad as we expected.

The route we followed is outlined on the map above. When relating this to a 1:25000 ordnance survey map please note that the actual footpath route through the wooded area of the route is different from that shown on the ordnance survey map. I can only assume that the footpath has been realigned since the map I used was produced.

Since it was a recce the description is given in a waypoint format to aid later navigation when the walk is offered on a Summer Thursday evening.

Waypoint 1
Leave the small car park by the quay at Bere Ferrers and head up the road through the village.

En route pass the Old Plough Inn and the old now defunct village well pump, installed in 1952.

You will see a sign pointing up to the railway station.

 

 

Waypoint 2
Turn left up the road which passes what seems to be the old village school.

The road swings to the right, called Station road and shortly after swings left again and up to the station.

If you have the time it is worth a little detour up to the station, if only to see just how the station has been renovated, and of course the figures in the station buildings.

Having visited the station retrace your steps back to waypoint 3.

 

Waypoint 3
Just where the road swings left there is a footpath sign into a small wood with three relatively modern houses ahead.

This used to be the old vicarage.

Follow the metalled road along to the third house and make your way along to the rear of the enclosed garden to a stile leading to a wood.

 

 

Waypoint 4
Climb the stile and follow the clearly enclosed footpath through the field.

The path turns first right and then left down across the field.

At the bottom of the field the path directs you left and over a stile and onto the road.

Turn right onto the road and a few yards along you'll find another footpath sign and a stile on the opposite side of the road.

 

Waypoint 5
Climb the stile, quite slippery so be careful and head in a loop up towards the high ground ahead.

Don't head straight across and up as you will find yourself with quite wet feet if you do so as the ground immediately ahead is quite marshy.

Pass to the left of a large tree and you will soon see another footpath sign.

 

 

 

Waypoint 6
Follow the signed footpath through a small metal gate and along a narrow track.

Soon the track widens out as you pass a hous on your right hand side, Shutecombe on the map and the footpath merges into a rough wider lane running downhill from Shutecombe.

Follow this track down until it comes out to a road with a signpost down to Bere Ferrers and uphill to Gnatham.

 

Waypoint 7
Once on the road head uphill away from Bere Ferrers.

A hundred yards or so further on you will see a signed bridlepath to the left.

 

 

 

Waypoint 8
The bridlepath heads NNW and climbs steadily up.

After about a quarter of a mile this hedged bridlepath opens out to a field through a narrow gate.

Head up across a couple of fields with the hedge on your left hand side.

The path through the fields swings more NNE, levels out and you will come to a gate opening out onto a road.

 

Waypoint 9
Once through the gate turn left onto the road.

Head uphill North West and at the top of the hill you will see a house, shown on the map as Shangri-La.

Before reaching the house you will find a footpath sign pointing you North West towards a farm called Hole Farm.

 

 

Waypoint 10
Turn right and follow the lane taking you towards Hole Farm.

As the road descends you will find Hole Farm ahead of you.

Follow the track past the farmhouse and into the farm yard.

 

 

 

Waypoint 11
Take care here.

Turn right just before a large shed and down through a gate.

Turn left just through the gate and head east just behind the large shed as you make your way through the field.

You will see a wood ahead.

Move away from the hedge and walk towards a high stile just down the field from the hedge at the top.

 

Waypoint 12
Climb over the stile and into the wood.

The stile is quite high and with the overhanging branches it is not the easiest of stiles to get over.

Once into the wood follow the only track you can see as you make your way along and around north east as the path starts to descend.

Before long you will meet another path heading north south.

 

Waypoint 13
Take care here as the footpath differs from that shown on the map.

The aim is to get down to a small bridge over a stream which may be visible to you immediately below you.

Turn onto the intersecting path and make your way south down the narrow track until you see a tree with footpath signs on it.

Turn sharp left and head back along the wider track until you reach the bridge over the brook.

 

Waypoint 14
picture of bridge over a brook Cross the bridge over the brook and once again the route differs from that shown on the map.

Make your way into the wood and turn right and follow the footpath sign.

The path up through the wood zig zaps upwards and after a short uphill climb you will come to a stile taking you out into a field.

 

 

Waypoint 15
stile out of Rapes Wood and into a field Leave the wood, called Rapes Wood, by crossing the stile and head diagonally south east across the field.

Pass through a gate and the footpath widens into a bridle path and swings more south and descends steeply.

Follow the track steeply downhill and after just under a half a mile you will be emerge out onto a narrow country road.

 

 

 

Waypoint 16
road over a bridge Turn right onto the road and after 10 yrds, over a bridge over the stream. turn sharp left again and head south west as you reach an inlet of the very tidal River Tavy.

Depending on the state of the tide you will see plenty of mud as you look across this wide but incredibly silted up tidal river.

 

 

 

Waypoint 17
footpath sign along banks of the Tavy As you approach the river itself along the inlet you will see a tidal ford off to your left hand side.

Take the footpath sign away from the tidal ford which takes you along the edge of gardens of houses as it follows above the western bank of the Tavy.

It is a wonderful spot to watch the river and sea birds on the mud banks as you make your way for the final 400 metres back to Bere Ferrers and the car park by the quay once again.

 

 

 

All that is left to do now is to nip into the pub to round the walk off. We didn't, instead we visited our very old friends Greta, Alan and Paul at their dairy farm called Stone Farm, the edge of which we had crossed just after leaving the old vicarage grounds at the top of the village a couple of hours earlier.