Hydro Turbine Walk at Castle Drogo

This 3-mile (4.8-km) out-and-back starts at Castle Drogo's main car park and takes about two hours. It descends into Teign Gorge to the estate's hydroelectric turbine house, then climbs back to the castle. It pairs a gorge walk with a working piece of estate history; the distance includes the return.

Follow the driveway from the car park towards Teign Gorge. At the orange information board, turn right onto Hunter's Path. Two flights of steps start the descent. The track narrows and gets rocky; at a right bend, trees open to views over Dartmoor and into the gorge. A gateway leads to the road downhill, then a footpath past Gibb House to the Iron Bridge. Cross it and climb steep steps over the medieval deer wall, built around 1560 to contain fallow deer. Bear left along the track and through the gate to the turbine. The concrete pipe from the weir is visible just inside; include it in a turbine-house photo to show how the water reaches the plant. Return by the signed route to the car park.

The turbine house was completed in 1927 and powered the castle until 1994. Restored in 2017, it now helps power the visitor centre. Its interior is open on selected days, so check before planning on going inside. Dogs are welcome on leads. Toilets and the visitor-centre café are at the start, with drinks, light lunches, fresh bakes and cream teas.