Parking
Combestone Tor car park (SX 670 718); cross the road to the grassy path.
Overview
About Combestone Tor to Aune Head Mire
Why go
- Reaches a distinctive valley mire and the Avon’s source
- Clear-day view toward Red Lake Mire’s spoil heap
Heads up
- Boggy ground can mean wet feet
- Open-moorland navigation is essential
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Dartmoor map
Full mapElevation348–491 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Dartmoor alerts
- CautionDartmoor military firing restricts accessDo not cross the Okehampton, Willsworthy or Merrivale training-range boundaries when warning signals are displayed.Official details
- CautionAccess restriction at Huccaby FarmAccess to CROW Access Land at Huccaby Farm in the West Dart River Valley is subject to a current restriction notice.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Dartmoor Tour Guide
Your drive to Combestone Tor to Aune Head Mire, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Dartmoor National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Combestone Tor to Aune Head Mire0:00 / 0:27
“You're approaching Combestone Tor, where a moorland walk leads to Aune Head Mire, the source of the River Avon. The full circuit is about five miles and takes three to four hours over rough, boggy ground.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Dartmoor Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Dartmeet's Two Crossings
- Venford Reservoir and Bench Tor
- The School Desks in St Raphael's
- Hexworthy Walk to Week Ford and Combestone Tor
- 298 audio storiesacross Dartmoor’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Western Roe Deer, Red Fox, European Rabbit, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 54 trails, 59 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Combestone Tor to Aune Head Mire
What this walk isCombestone Tor to Aune Head Mire is a moorland circuit of about 5.3 miles (8.
Combestone Tor to Aune Head Mire is a moorland circuit of about 5.3 miles (8.5 km) from the tor car park to the head of the River Avon, then back over higher ground. The full mapped walk is longer than the 4.3-mile figure printed with the route; allow three to four hours. Expect open bogland, old workings and rough tracks rather than a surfaced path.
Over Holne RidgeCross the road and climb through bracken to old stone boundaries and a square enclosure.
Cross the road and climb through bracken to old stone boundaries and a square enclosure. Springs, soft rush and sphagnum appear as the track gains Holne Ridge. Turn onto Sandy Way, a narrow sandy path beside a man-made gully, and follow it to Aune Head’s broad valley mire. The rougher line skirts O Brook; an easier option uses a grassier climb. On clear days, Red Lake Mire’s spoil heap sits on the southern skyline. Frame the pools with the heap beyond to show the open scale. Aune Head is a peat bog at the source of the Avon, also called the Aune.
Back to CombestoneExplore the mire, retrace Sandy Way, continue past the junction, then leave near old mineral…
Explore the mire, retrace Sandy Way, continue past the junction, then leave near old mineral workings and descend by Horn’s Cross. The ground is rough and boggy; leaving Sandy Way can mean wading. This is open moorland: competent map-and-compass navigation is essential, and avoid the walk in poor weather. Dogs are allowed on short leads from 1 March to 31 July. The easier route is about 3.7 miles and still reaches the mire.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Dartmoor
32 sightingsWestern Roe DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
10 sightingsRed FoxMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
37 sightingsEuropean RabbitMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
19 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
34 sightingsGreat Spotted WoodpeckerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
20 sightingsCommon RavenMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Dartmoor. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
