Synopsis: As easy a walk up to Haldon as one is likely to get; a nice steady incline. A quiet corner of Haldon Forest, so quiet herds of deer were seen in the fields. Superb views across valleys on way down.
Rarely has the maxim ‘Make hay whilst the sun shines’ been more apt than during this weekend. There was a faint promise of some dry weather for today, possibly even a little sun, so I thought I need to get outdoors and make the most of it.
I’m extending my range from home these days by doing what I call ‘cycle/walks’, that is to say I cycle out to a start point and walk from there. It’s such a low-cost (even zero-cost) form of enjoyment, and it’s so green. Perfect!
I fancied a walk on Haldon today, which is easy to reach from my home, being about a six mile cycle ride to the nether reaches of the hills. Perusing the Ordnance Survey map I could see a bridleway running up Haldon named St Andrew’s Lane. I wasn’t all that confident about this lane, since it seems to jettison one onto the extremely busy A380 dual-carriageway, a place a walker (or horse rider for that matter) wouldn’t want to be. Despite this uncertainty, I could see tracks shown in the woods nearby, so I thought I’d give it a try anyway.
Kenn - St Andrew's parish churchI parked my bike in Kennford, tethered to a road barrier, disrobed (the sun had come out!) and headed off on foot down a lane in the direction of Kenn. I stopped in Kenn momentarily to take this photo of St Andrew’s parish church, viewed tucked amongst the trees across the fields. I suppose this would be the reason for the name of the lane.
St Andrew's Lane - lower start point - Public Bridleway sign
At the point where I’m to join St Andrew’s Lane I notice a public bridleway sign which instils a little more confidence in me. I can also see the lane is well walked as the route ahead looked clear of foliage. Oddly there is a People and Horse Counter at this point (see photo in Flickr set), which is mounted upside down; made me chuckle.
Why sheep? you may ask. Well, to prove a point; that point being that, although, yes, I’m in very close proximity to an extremely busy major road, even here the peace is not altogether shattered by the sound of traffic, and sheep can, in best rural idyll tradition, still be heard bleating in the fields. I made this short thirty second recording at this point in my walk.
Click ‘Play’ to hear recording …
St Andrew's Lane - public footpath sign points the wayThere are lovely views from the lane, which provided a steady climb to the summit (ok, Everest it isn’t). On reaching the top of St Andrew’s Lane, as I supposed, I hit the A380, but here, rather unexpectedly, I came across a public footpath sign directing me a hundred metres in the direction of a clearly visible forest track. I’m not sure what a horse rider is expected to do at this point, but for a person on foot the going is easy enough.
Haldon Forest - looking towards Dartmoor
I was soon crossing the bridge over the A380 from which I detoured left a short distance to pick up my first track into the woods. A little way in, as the clouds began to accumulate in the sky, I stopped to eat my picnic lunch. After lunch I decided to wander, relatively aimlessly, around Haldon Forest for a while. I’d loaded my handheld GPS with some forest tracks from the OS map and simply went on a little exploration. The impression I got during my meandering walk was that this part of Haldon Forest is less frequently visited than the area across the A380 which is a shame as many of the views are excellent.
Herds of deer at the point where I exited from the forest (Digital zoom used for this photograph)
I then had to do a bit of road walking, not particularly pleasant, crossing under the A38, before picking up the public footpath that was to take me back to Kenn. As I was leaving the forest boundary I glanced across the valley and there I saw herds of deer roaming the open fields. Usually they would be too shy to leave themselves this exposed, but this is obviously such a quiet spot they felt confident to be out in the open. If I came again I’d bring my binoculars with me.
This proved a lovely cycle/walk, and so close to my home town of Exeter.
PS. I’m writing this the following day, Tuesday, and it is tipping down with rain outside. I pity the poor campers down for the weekend.
PPS. A fellow Flickr member posted a comment on my photo set explaining that the walk start/finish point is known in highway’s circles as “Splatford Split”, named after nearby Splatford Farm. What a splendid name for this road junction. It’s a busy junction that, when driving, I’ve always been wary of. Well, one wouldn’t want to become splattered at Splatford Split would one?
Cycle/Walk Statistics:
Total Distance (Combined Cycle/Walk): 22.8 miles -:- (Walk): 9.5 miles
Elapsed Time (Combined Cycle/Walk): 5hrs 42min -:- (Walk): 4hrs 32min
Moving Time (Combined Cycle/Walk): 4hrs 41min
Stopped Time (Combined Cycle/Walk): 1hr 01min
Total Ascent (Combined Cycle/Walk): 628 metres
Maximum Elevation (Combined Cycle/Walk): 247 metres
Buses: (none) Cycled from Exeter to walk start/finish point in Kennford
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