Parking
Start at the main Fernworthy Reservoir car park beside the picnic site. Parking is paid; disabled bays and public toilets are provided there.
Overview
About Potter's Walk
Why go
- The dam, old quarry and Bronze Age hut circles fit into a short walk.
- Picnic benches and public toilets are at the start.
Heads up
- The grassy return and slopes may need assistance.
Begin and finish at the main reservoir car park and picnic site. It has disabled bays, accessible picnic benches and public toilets. Parking is paid. Dogs are welcome on leads.
Parkwolf’s verdictStarting at FernworthyMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Dartmoor map
Full mapElevation335–350 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 Potter's 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
Fernworthy Reservoir and Potter’s Walk0:00 / 0:34
“You're coming up on Fernworthy Reservoir, a water-and-woodland stop near Chagford. The short Potter's Walk follows the shore to the dam, then turns inland past a disused granite quarry and Bronze Age hut circles.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Dartmoor Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Golden Dagger's Round Basins
- The Farm Before Fernworthy Reservoir
- Warren House Inn: A Moorland Meal
- The Marks on a Moorland Flock
- 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 Potter's Walk
The short circuitPotter's Walk is a 0.
Potter's Walk is a 0.75-mile loop from Fernworthy Reservoir's main car park, following the shore to the dam before turning inland past a disused granite quarry and Bronze Age hut circles. Allow 30–45 minutes. This is the short accessible outing, not the separate 2.6-mile circuit around the reservoir. Built in 1993, the walk was named for Sydney Potter, who lived and worked at Fernworthy for more than 50 years.
Shore, dam and hut circlesThe path starts beside the picnic site, then follows a well-surfaced shore path with views…
The path starts beside the picnic site, then follows a well-surfaced shore path with views across to Thornworthy Tor. At the dam it uses a short tarmac access stretch and turns right onto the grassy return. The surfaces alternate between rolled growan (local granite sand), grass and tarmac. The route is mostly level, with no steps, gates or stiles, but some slopes and grassy sections may need assistance. The old quarry supplied granite for the dam; Bronze Age hut circles stand nearby. Keep to the path behind the fence above the quarry's sheer drop. From the shore, frame Thornworthy Tor across the water; great crested grebes and swallows may be feeding over the reservoir.
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.
