In the countryside not far from Tiverton there are tracts of undulating farmland that feel quite remote, through which are scattered historic settlements. Fields and woodlands are linked by corridors of hedgerows, and as the season progresses there’s a good chance of autumn colour – though this varies greatly from year to year. A few blackberries may also linger…. There is likely to be mud, so wellies are a good idea.
This short walk enjoys some lovely views and allows time afterwards to ‘do the tourist thing’ in Tiverton, just five miles away, where the beautiful Grand Western Canal Country Park is home to one of the last horse-drawn barges in the country. This year they are celebrating 50 years of heavy horses along the Tiverton towpath – book a trip on the colourful barge and experience a journey at Nature’s pace.
There’s also Tiverton Castle, a deeply historic and grand private home that opens to visitors on certain days.
1. Start off with a visit to Loxbeare’s lovely old church, a real ‘country’ church that has stood for centuries. Its squat Norman tower is a quite different style to the later architecture of most of Devon’s church towers.
Leave the churchyard by the main gate (opposite the parking area) and turn right down the road through the village, soon passing the village hall on your right. The road bends about and within 200m of the church a footpath is signed left, along the concrete drive to Loxbeare Barton. Follow this, and within 100m you reach the farm pond on the left. Here go left, following the direction of the blue bridleway arrow fixed to the gatepost.
Follow the drive for 100m towards houses, and as you reach them go left through the gateway that’s opposite a house called The Bothy.
2. The bridleway now follows a hedged track, which leads to a gate in just over 250m. Pass through and head across a potentially damp area to another blue-arrowed gate in about 50m, ignoring any unarrowed gates to right or left.
Enter the field and head up alongside the right-hand hedge. The hedgeline leads to a gate beneath trees in an ancient boundary, with gentle field and woodland views to the right as you approach it. An arrow directs you straight on through the next field, which is very uneven walking – you’re initially following the direction of the right-hand boundary, though not beside it, and the boundary soon heads away but the bridleway keeps on in the same direction through this very long field, the ground sloping down to your right.
After 450m this line leads to some majestic oaks with a blue-arrowed gate beyond them.
3. Enter the next field and veer left to join a track that runs along the top of the field but is hedged from it. If the knee-deep mud makes this track impassable it may be better to walk through the field, on the other side of the right-hand hedge, as in 250m the track emerges back into this same field. Keep going when the track ends, and you reach another arrowed gate in the field corner.
The track climbs to a field gate. In the field go right, walking along the right-hand boundary with the field sloping down to the left, towards the valley. At the end of the field another arrowed gate leads onto a track. Follow this for almost 200m, going through another gateway, until you emerge onto the concrete drive of houses at Leigh. Keep ahead, passing the buildings on your right, until their drive reaches a lane near a bridleway fingerpost.
Walk ahead along the lane, passing entrances to more houses; the lane bends left and in another 50m reaches the main Tiverton to Rackenford Road – look out for traffic as this can be quite a fast road.
5. Turn right along the road for 90m, then take the footpath heading right, uphill along the drive towards Leigh Cottage. When you reach their gate swing left, and follow this concrete drive for about 300m, to arrive at Leigh Barton Farm, passing the farmhouse on your right.
Crest the hill and pause at the gate ahead, where a lovely pastoral panorama spreads out before you. Loxbeare lies in wait. The view is rather dominated by a substantial feed silo at Loxbeare Barton, but it’s still lovely, with many traditional buildings dotted about, not least the church, which is far less noticeable than the silo.
Go through the viewful gate and head down the field towards Loxbeare. When the hedge on the right ends, turn right around its corner and join a track that soon bends left again, heading towards the farm.
The track reaches an arrowed gate. Continue straight ahead through the farm buildings and you soon pass the bridleway we followed earlier, now on your right beside the farm pond. Follow the farm drive out to the road in Loxbeare, turn right, and retrace your steps to the church.
START POINT: Loxbeare Church, EX16 9RJ. Grid ref: SS911160
PARKING: There is usually some space on-road opposite the church
MAP: OS Explorer 114 Exeter & the Exe Valley, 1:25 000 (please use this scale map; the one printed here shows insufficient detail)
DISTANCE: Just over 3 miles
TERRAIN: Field paths, tracks and very quiet lane in Loxbeare. Very muddy in places and uneven underfoot. There is one stretch of 90m along the Tiverton-Rackenford road
EXERTION: Easy-moderate; there are some uphill sections
DOG DATA: Animals grazing. Quiet lane in village but one 90m stretch along the busier Tiverton-Rackenford road
REFRESHMENTS: The Rose & Crown, Calverleigh, EX16 8BA (01884 233591) is 2.5 miles away; lots of varied options in Tiverton, 5 miles away
Tiverton Canal Company’s horse drawn barge is in its Golden Anniversary year. Book a trip – it’s a lovely way to travel and keeps the tradition alive.
The Grand Western Canal is an 11-mile long, wildlife-rich country park that winds through beautiful countryside. You can walk the whole length of the towpath, from Tiverton to Lowdwells, near the Somerset border.
Tiverton Castle is a place of multi-layered political and social history - it was a busy place during the Civil War. Check opening times – it’s well worth a visit.
Knightshayes Court is a National Trust property just north of Tiverton, with a grand Victorian gothic mansion, glorious gardens, and woodlands and parkland that offer many permissive paths for further walking.
