Teign Gorge Classic Circuit

Teign Gorge Classic Circuit is a 4.1-mile loop from Castle Drogo’s main car park, out along Hunter’s Path above the River Teign to Fingle Bridge, then back through the gorge. Allow about two and a half hours. It’s a moderate walk rather than a stroll: the ground shifts from flat to uneven, with steep descents, moderate climbs and changing views between wooded hillside and river. Choose it if you want to experience the gorge as a whole, not just stop at one viewpoint.

The main route follows Fisherman’s Path for the river return. At Fingle Bridge you can instead take the less challenging Foresters Track, avoiding sections of the very steep steps at Sharp Tor. Treat these as two choices within the circuit; don’t try to connect both into one route.

From the main car park, follow the estate-walk signs back up the drive, turn right for Hunter’s Path, and descend two flights of steps. At the bottom, turn left toward Fingle Bridge. The path stays high above the river, with steep descents and uneven stretches; Sharp Tor is the named viewpoint to pause at on this leg. At Hunter’s Gate, take the right-hand path after about 55 yards and descend to the road. Follow it to Fingle Bridge carefully.

Fingle Bridge is a 13th-century packhorse bridge, still the natural place to pause before turning back into the gorge. The inn sits beside the crossing, picnic meadows are nearby, and a car park and public toilets are on the opposite bank. Check the inn’s hours before counting on it as a meal stop.

For the main route, take Fisherman’s Path before crossing Fingle Bridge and follow the Teign upstream. It keeps you close to the water and brings you past the hydroelectric plant and the end of Drogo Weir. The tradeoff is real: Fisherman’s Path climbs and drops over very steep steps at the base of Sharp Tor, and the mixed ground can be muddy or slippery. Skip this side if those steps would make the walk a chore.

Crossing Fingle Bridge instead gives you the Foresters Track through riverside meadows, along the lower wall of Whiddon Deer Park and over the Iron Bridge. The deer park was enclosed around 1560 to hold fallow deer. From the Iron Bridge, look downstream toward Drogo Weir, built in 1928 for the hydroelectric plant below. After heavy rain, especially in September and October, salmon and brown trout may leap at the weir; it’s a chance, not a show on demand.

Both riverside choices lead back toward Castle Drogo on the Two Moors Way and estate drive. Near Gibb House and Coombe, look for the wooden gate between large beech trees; it takes you onto Hunter’s Path below the castle. The last stretch looks back down the valley you’ve just walked, then returns by the same steps and drive to the main car park.

The car park has limited spaces; if it’s full, don’t park on the drive. Castle Drogo’s coffee shop is at the start and finish, serving light lunches, bakes and cream teas. Dogs are welcome on leads along the countryside paths and informal garden areas.