Positioned right on the southern edge of the National Park, Dulverton calls itself ‘the gateway to Exmoor’. A small market town on the banks of the River Barle, this is a lively town with a strong community spirit, lots of independent shops, and a couple of very good places to eat. On the last Saturday of every month between April and November, the town holds a farmer’s market where you can pick up local produce from cheese to craft ales and gin, books, crafts, art, flowers and leather goods.

A few weeks ago, we visited our nephew and his wife who were staying overnight at the campsite in Dulverton and it struck us that we had only walked our circuit from the town a couple of times, and not at all this year. So last week, when a warm, sunny day arrived, we set off to rectify that.

As we drove to Dulverton, I tried to remember the route and its features, but I struggled to recollect either, apart from a thigh-stretching climb to begin.

The Route

Parking in the large pay & display car park behind The Bridge Inn, we crossed the bridge out of Dulverton, immediately turned off the road and began the ascent through Burridge Wood, high above the River Barle. It was even more of a climb than I had remembered and seemed to wind up endlessly through the trees, my thighs already beginning to complain. But when we emerged from the woods and crossed open fields, the views north to Anstey Common and Northmoor Common more than compensated for the effort of getting there.

Neither of us could remember the view being so expansive and we concluded that, on the two previous occasions we had done the route, visibility must have been poor. We decided we had September to thank.

It was while living in the Canary Islands that we realised what a great month September is for visibility. For some reason which meteorologists will no doubt be able to explain, the clarity of air at the end of summer and before the onset of autumn, is at its optimum and we could not have picked a better route than this for capitalising on it. We were seeing incredible views in every direction we looked.

Descending to cross a stream and then climbing a very overgrown and eroded section of path on the other side, we passed a clay pigeon shooting range before once again climbing. Exmoor ponies grazed beneath the shady branches of oak trees as we progressed across Venford Moor from where we could see all across the National Park to Dunkery Beacon, the highest point in Somerset.

Crossing the Two Moors Way, we ascended the valley between Dane’s Brook and the River Barle to reach Hawkridge village, one of the oldest communities on Exmoor. A stunning ridge walk along part of the Exe Valley Way, with jaw-dropping views across Exmoor, took us back down to valley bottom and we followed a delightful riverside path through woodland, hugging the bank of the River Barle, back to Dulverton.

It turned out to be a meatier route than we had remembered, notching up some 17km (10.5 miles) and an ascent/descent of 530m but the reward to effort ratio was heavily weighted towards the former. A cracking walk, best done on a clear day to make the most of the superb views.