10k Hike: Shaptor Woods and the Bovey Valley
There are few things more arresting than a woodland carpeted in bluebells. Funnily enough, I can never seem to remember where any bluebell woods are, which might have something to do with perennially believing they bloom far earlier than they actually do.
For reference, they come out from mid-April to the end of May. I know, right? I always thought they were friends of snowdrops. Apparently not.
When my sister tipped me off about a particularly spectacular bluebell wood the other day, I was off. And true to her word, the bluebells in Shaptor Woods were astounding. The woodland just goes on and on with a central path but plenty others dipping off for loops around vast boulders and bluebell carpets. The forest is home to Shaptor Rocks as well — it's part of Dartmoor and nowhere in the national park is complete without a set of towering rocks from which to ascend and survey the land, after all.
When the bluebells are out, so are the birds. This is an audio recording I took whilst sat on top of Shaptor Rocks:
Shaptor Woods is a place of twisted, lichen-covered oaks, beech trees, ferns and orchids. It sits high up on the valley side, hoarding secret boulders and pockets of primroses. It doesn't look very special on a map. There's nothing obvious to differentiate it from any of the area's other, stunning locations. But Shaptor is truly beautiful and seemingly trodden by few. I hiked through there on a sunny Sunday in May and saw five others.
10km Hike Through Shaptor Woods and Back Along the Bovey Valley
This hike starts by going consistently uphill and quite steeply in places. The surface is easy though, so it's more of an amble up rather than anything too challenging. The trail through Shaptor Woods is gently undulating and the path is clear and mostly earthen. I've added in a detour up to the rocks which I highly recommend. Clamber up through the jumble and access the top via the back of the rocks. The view is exceptional.
I've created the route on Komoot and OS Maps, so you can use either. If you want the GPX, you can download it below (it's in a zip file before Wordpress won't let me upload a GPX for some reason) If you're not a fan of downloading files from blogs (I hear you), just click the OS Maps link above and you can download the GPX from the OS site direct:
Start: Mary Street Car Park, Bovey Tracey, TQ13 9HE
This car park is up the top of the town so you save a bit of elevation gain at the start but don't thank me too much, you'll have to walk up to the car park to finish. The first section takes you up a steep lane and a track to Bearacleave Wood and you'll stay in woodland from here for almost half the hike.
Bearacleave is small and pretty but when you enter Shaptor Woods, it only takes a few minutes before its stunning nature becomes clear. Follow the winding permissive footpath all the way through before it splits, very obviously, with a footpath continuing north west and another going north east. Pick the north eastern one to access Shaptor Rocks and their dramatic views.
When you're finished ogling the scenery, retrace your steps to the split and take the footpath heading north west. This will spit you out eventually onto a lane where you turn left, to the south. Take care crossing the A382 just downhill here because people take it fast.
Carry on up the lane, quite steeply, and it will turn into a byway which will take you downhill. When you reach the lane, you can either head north to Lustleigh if you're after a snack of a pub, or follow the route south, heading back to Bovey.
This is part of a fantastic cycle route between Bovey and Moretonhampstead. I covered it in part of a longer ride so if you're interested, check out my post on riding the Wray Valley Trail.
Hike along the road here until you see a bridleway on the left hand side. This is part of the old railway line that will take you all the way back into Bovey. It's ever so slightly downhill, which makes for a leisurely return but a fantastic cycle if you ever bring your bike here.
Bovey has plenty of cafes, little supermarkets, pop-up coffee outlets and a bakery, should you need some sustenance.
