Parking
Use the layby outside the Forest Inn in Hexworthy, the stated start and finish.
Overview
About Hexworthy Walk
Why go
- Week Ford’s tin-mill remains and water leats
- Farm history and a tor viewpoint in a short circuit
Heads up
- One steep, rocky climb after the river
- Stepping stones need sure footing
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Dartmoor map
Full mapElevation254–345 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 Hexworthy 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 trailhead
Hexworthy Walk to Week Ford and Combestone Tor0:00 / 0:25
“You're approaching Hexworthy, the start of a three-mile walk past old farmsteads to Week Ford and Combestone Tor.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Dartmoor Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The School Desks in St Raphael's
- The Flood That Broke the Crossing
- Combestone Tor to Aune Head Mire
- Dartmeet's Two Crossings
- 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 Hexworthy Walk
A short loop with a proper climbHexworthy Walk is a 3-mile (5 km) loop from the layby outside the Forest Inn, through farm…
Hexworthy Walk is a 3-mile (5 km) loop from the layby outside the Forest Inn, through farm lanes and fields to Week Ford, then up to Combestone Tor and back by road. Allow about 2½ hours. Choose it for farm history, a river crossing and a moorland view; expect one strenuous climb.
Farmsteads and the riverThe route passes Hexworthy’s medieval farmsteads, crosses fields over stone stiles and drops to…
The route passes Hexworthy’s medieval farmsteads, crosses fields over stone stiles and drops to a bridge. It follows part of the old Tavistock–Ashburton packhorse route, much of which was later replaced by modern roads, then passes St Raphael’s, an 1869 mission chapel that also served as a weekday school. From there, descend to Week Ford. Cross the stepping stones to reach two substantial tin-mill remains, wheel pits and leats dating to the 15th–17th centuries; water powered tin crushing and smelting.
Climbing to the torAfter the river, cross a stream and climb a steep, sometimes rocky bridleway to a track and the…
After the river, cross a stream and climb a steep, sometimes rocky bridleway to a track and the road. Make the short rise to Combestone Tor for a view across the Dart valley. Low stone banks south of the road are Bronze Age field boundaries; frame one against the open moor. Follow the road downhill to the Forest Inn. Keep dogs on a lead. Toilets are at Dartmeet car park, a separate stop.
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.
