Parking
Start at Station Road Car Park in Bovey Tracey and cross into Mill Marsh Park. Court Street Car Park in Moretonhampstead is the other signed access, reached via Pound Lane. The endpoints are 7 miles apart, so arrange transport or walk back.
Overview
About Wray Valley Trail
Why go
- Riverside rail path through Parke woodland
- A quieter, traffic-free track for most of the route
Heads up
- One narrow, steep road mile carries traffic
- The point-to-point route needs a return plan
Wray Valley Trail is a 7-mile (11 km) one-way walk from Bovey Tracey to Moretonhampstead, mostly along a former railway through the Wray Valley. It is a long, steady valley route for the River Bovey, Parke Estate woodland and Lustleigh, rather than a hill walk. Allow about 3–4 hours on foot, with time for stops; the endpoints are separate towns, so plan how to get back. The trail is shared with cyclists and horse riders.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the whole route for you?Map & elevation
The route
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 Wray Valley Trail, 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
England’s First Nature Reserve0:00 / 0:31
“Yarner Wood, near this part of Dartmoor, has a place in conservation history. In nineteen fifty-two, it became England's first National Nature Reserve.”
Plays on the road 1 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Dartmoor Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Little Hunter in the Mire
- The Dark Clay That Fires White
- The Flycatchers in Yarner's Boxes
- Scottish Pottery, Devon Hands
- 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 Wray Valley Trail
From the river to the old railwayStart at Station Road Car Park.
Start at Station Road Car Park. Cross into Mill Marsh Park, keep the River Bovey on your right and pass beneath the road bridge into Parke. The route joins the old railway and climbs gently on a mostly compacted gravel path. The valley woods close over sections of the track; the beech tunnel is especially striking when leaves are out. Parke House and its café sit on a side path, not the main line; the detour is steep down and back up.
The railway opened in 1866 and carried passengers and local goods between the valley towns. Passenger service ended in 1959 and the line closed fully in 1964. Embankments, cuttings and old railway stops explain the route’s long, straight passages better than any summit view.
The road break at LustleighNear Hawkmoor, the mostly traffic-free line gives way to about a mile on narrow, hilly Lower…
Near Hawkmoor, the mostly traffic-free line gives way to about a mile on narrow, hilly Lower Knowle Road before rejoining at Brookfield in Lustleigh. Motor traffic uses this stretch, so it needs the most care and makes the route less relaxed than the railway path. Through Lustleigh the trail returns to the old railway alignment and follows the wooded valley north to Moretonhampstead, ending near Pound Lane.
The off-road track varies between sealed and unsealed surfaces; expect gravel and patches that can turn muddy after rain.
Access and a shorter versionStation Road Car Park is the straightforward start, with toilets nearby.
Station Road Car Park is the straightforward start, with toilets nearby. From Moretonhampstead, Court Street Car Park is the other signed access, with the route reached down Pound Lane. The main walk is one way, so arrange a lift or allow the same 7 miles back. If you want a shorter taste, the Bovey Tracey–Hawkmoor Halt section is about 2.5 km each way; it turns back before the road section. Food is available in both towns, and the Parke café requires a detour.
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.
