Synopsis: The iron age hill fort of Woodbury Castle, almost hidden in the trees. Dusty tracks, but easy going on a hot and humid day. A full day’s walking, but not too strenuous.
This was a walk and a half, at 19.5 miles. When I mapped it out in the morning I knew it was quite some distance, but the weather forecast predicted sun all day through, and this was June, so the day would be long, so I thought to myself, let’s do it. It had been my intention to have a walk planned for today, and I did have one down Plymouth in mind, but I discovered I hadn’t GPS mapped the route, and I had also woken up rather late. For these reasons it was a bit of a scramble to get myself going in the morning, but by 10:30 I was out the door.
Track up to Woodbury Common
This walk was to be done from home, since I blew the chance of a public transport walk by starting out too late. Seeing as it was such a glorious day, it made sense not to be cooped up in some vehicle anyway. My first objective was Woodbury Castle, the Iron Age hill fort on Woodbury Common, and to get there I picked up a track I hadn’t used before, from out the back of Woodbury Salterton.
As I passed the Diggers Rest I noticed a couple of chaps settle on a bench (presumably diggers) out in the sun with pints of chilled lager in their hands. I had the fleeting thought that perhaps they had chosen the better option on such a hot day, but I ploughed on regardless.
Woodbury Castle
I’d forgotten just how impressive Woodbury Castle is. I say forgotten, because as children we were brought here to play, which was always a great adventure. We’d play hide-and-seek, and go hurtling up and down the steep slopes of the fortress, little bothered about exactly what it was we were playing on. I think some of the vegetation has been cleared since those days as today it’s possible to get a clear impression of the scale of the hill fort, and it is quite sizeable. I decided to seek out some shade on the inner rampart and eat my lunch there.
Sadly the English Heritage List entry for Woodbury Castle has no relevant information. A little archaeology can be found in the article named Unearthing hidden history on the BBC Devon site.
Track leading towards the sand and gravel quarry - Four Firs in the middle distance
After lunch I headed out through the locally well known landmark of Four Firs and then on towards the nearby sand and gravel quarries, which although very busy, I was able to snake my way along a track with very little intrusion from the hive of activity occurring all around me.
Approaching the quarry, dust from lorries in the air
The trucks carrying their loads on a hot and dry day like today were kicking up quite a lot of dust, and if you look closely at this photograph (left), you’ll see what I mean.
Unfortunately this looks like Himalayan Balsam invading the hedgerow
Once out of the region of the quarry I picked up a lane, and it was lanes all the way to Exton, skirting the commando barracks at Lympstone, where a troop out training passed me by at a jog, some looking a little fatigued. Ok, they were running and it was hot, but it perked me up to see these young lads struggling, and me cough,cough years old, making steady progress.
On arriving in Exton I picked up the route of the Exe Estuary Trail. At this time of day, I was going against the cyclist flow, but although busy, it was not a problem. I whipped around the outskirts of Topsham as it was getting late and I was tired. I stopped briefly at my local Tesco for some groceries, and then finished the home straight on feet that were by now feeling it just a bit.
It had been a relief to get out of doors and in the sun. A simple walk though this was, I thoroughly enjoyed my day, and arrived home tired but very relaxed.
Note: I explored a track near the quarry on Woodbury Common that got me nowhere, and this you’ll see as a small loop on my tracklog maps. Simply ignore this loop if you should choose to walk this route.
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 19.5 miles
Moving Time: 6hrs 55min
Stopped Time: 52min
Total Ascent: 520 metres
Maximum Elevation: 181 metres
Buses: (none)
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