North Devon & Exmoor Walking Festival

The 2009 North Devon and Exmoor Walking Festival, Thursday 30 April – Friday 8 May, embraces a full programme of 73 guided and speciality graded walks ensuring all levels of ability can discover the region’s beautiful and diverse scenery on foot.

Larger than ever before, some two-thirds of the outings are new with several half-day special interest walks being introduced for the first time, while some of the local landowners are guiding on their own patch giving walkers a personal insight into the area. There will also be new, three and four day breaks starting over the May Bank Holiday weekend with daily walking itineraries along the South West Coast Path or Two Moors Way and Samaritans Way.

The festival opens on 30 April with two free welcome walks centered on Croyde; both are graded easy to moderate and are 4.7 and 7 miles in length respectively. Amongst the new specialist outings are a 5.5 mile circular walk on Sunday, 3 May around the International Biosphere Reserve at Braunton Burrows discovering evidence remaining from WWII including pillboxes, a bazooka/tank firming range, Matilda tank and much more giving a fascinating insight into how this area was used as a practice ground for the D Day landings. And on Wednesday, 6 May a 7.5 mile walk explores the old Victorian Mineral Line, which carried iron ore down a 1:4 incline to Watchet harbour on Exmoor’s coast.

Two new outings on 3 and 7 May search for animal tracks on Exmoor and enlighten walkers on how to find and identify them, while others invite walkers to join a National Park Ranger or Nordic walking instructor for the afternoon in search of red deer and wild ponies.

Sir Hugh Stucley will be guiding a group around the Hartland Abbey estate on Bank Holiday Monday, 4 May. Their lovely old Blackpool Mill Cottage was used in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, broadcast early in 2008, when it was transformed into ‘Barton Cottage’ where Mrs Dashwood lived with her three daughters. Another local landowner showing walkers around his estate will be the Hon Jon Rous with a 4.9 mile tour of the steep, traffic free village of Clovelly and surrounding coast and countryside.

On Sunday, 3 May walking break specialists, HF Holidays, one of the festival sponsors, will host an open day at Holnicote House, near Selworthy with four free walks, 4.75 - 7.5 miles in length, led by their guides and returning to the house for afternoon tea.

Amongst the other special outings on offer are walks around Badgeworthy Water with local professional photographer, Ross Hoddinott, with advice on taking pictures of moving water, and gourmet walks including a lunch and cream tea. Families and steam train enthusiasts will also enjoy the outing on 4 May, which takes in a ride on the narrow gauge Lynton and Barnstaple Railway.

Some of the outings follow sections of the 180 mile Tarka Trail or explore Doone Country, an area of Exmoor made famous by RD Blackmore’s novel, while favourites such as the map reading navigation experience and day trip to Lundy Island are being repeated.

The North Devon & Exmoor Walking Festival’s main sponsor is HF Holidays; other supporters include Mullacott Park, Ilfracombe; Farm & Cottage Holidays; Active Exmoor; North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve and Devon County Council, while the festival is co-ordinated by North Devon+ with West Country Walks.

Prices, Booking and More Information
Two welcome walks on 30 April and those on 3 May around Holnicote House are free but the majority of outings are priced from £5 - £6 for adults and £4 - £5 for children; specials such as searching for animal tracks, photography and gourmet walks are higher at £12 - £17.50 per person and the day trip to Lundy is £28 for adults and £15 for children including the boat trip. The three and four-day South West Coast Path guided walking holidays range from £275 to £340 per person. They cover the first 100 miles of the coast path including four or five nights accommodation at three hotels along the coast with packed lunches and transfers to and from each walk.

All events have a ticket allocation booked in advance; dogs on a lead are welcome on some walks. Reservations can be made online at walkingnorthdevon.co.uk or by calling the Tourist Information Centre at Ilfracombe or Bideford. The walking breaks should be booked with the hotels direct. For a copy of the festival programme, email bryan@westcountrywalks.co.uk. Accommodation suggestions can be found on northdevon.com.