Parking
The mapped start is South Zeal Car Park, at the south end of the village. The Dartmoor leaflet also lists car parks in South Tawton, Sticklepath and Belstone as alternate starts.
Overview
About Four Villages Walk
Why go
- Four villages, open commons and a riverside cleave in one circuit
- Finch Foundry’s leat and South Tawton’s Church House add history
Heads up
- Stony, muddy footing in Belstone Cleave when wet
- Road and lane stretches connect the field and riverside paths
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Dartmoor map
Full mapElevation176–312 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 Four Villages Walk, 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 area
The Coconut Scent of Gorse0:00 / 0:26
“Gorse has a surprise that a drive across Dartmoor won't reveal. On a warm day, its yellow flowers can smell like coconut.”
Plays on the road 0.2 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Dartmoor Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Four Mills on the Taw
- Finch Foundry in Sticklepath
- Rebecca Finch's Catalogue
- The Travelling Song of Widecombe Fair
- 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 Four Villages Walk
A village-and-moor loopThe Four Villages Walk is a 6.
The Four Villages Walk is a 6.5-mile circular route from South Zeal through South Tawton, Sticklepath and Belstone, then back to South Zeal. Allow 3.5–4 hours. It’s a good half-day choice if you want village lanes and fields as well as Dartmoor commons and a river valley. The mapped version starts at South Zeal Car Park, though you can also begin in the other three villages.
Fields, tracks and the riverFrom South Zeal, the route uses a field path toward South Tawton, then a track signposted Tarka…
From South Zeal, the route uses a field path toward South Tawton, then a track signposted Tarka Trail into Sticklepath. It passes Finch Foundry before dropping to the River Taw and the footbridges of Belstone Cleave. The weir beside the river fed the leat that powered the foundry. The riverside path is stony in places; on the climb into Belstone, look back toward Belstone Common and South Tawton Common. A bridleway and tracks bring the loop back through Sticklepath.
Footing and village detailsMost of the circuit is easy going on roads and defined tracks, but the Cleave can be rocky and…
Most of the circuit is easy going on roads and defined tracks, but the Cleave can be rocky and paths muddy when wet. In South Tawton, the route passes the 14th-century Church House. South Zeal’s long burgage plots preserve the plan of a market settlement established after it received market and fair rights in 1299. South Zeal has public toilets, and the authority lists car parks in all four villages.
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.
