Templer Way, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park
Haytor Rocks is, arguably, Dartmoor National Park's most famous tor. The rocks rise from Haytor Down which is peppered with disused quarries and crossed by an old tramway on which granite was transported from the moors down to Stover Canal and then to the coast at Teignmouth from where the rock was shipped out to be used in many famous buildings.
As is the case with many old railways and mineral tramways in South West England, the Haytor Granite Tramway is today a long distance walking path connecting Dartmoor to the South Devon coast. The Templer Way is 29 kilometres or 18 miles in length.
Start near Haytor Quarries walking from Dartmoor to the South Devon coast
Start from one of the car parking areas by the B3387. Walk across to Haytor Quarries which is clearly marked on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map. There, you'll pick up the tramway. It passes a large chunk of granite with the Templer Way symbol on it. This is the start of the walk.
Follow the tramway along Haytor Down. You cross a minor road and follow the edge of a finger of moorland before arcing around to the top of Yarner Wood. There are plenty of waymarkers with arrows, the name Templer Way and Templer Way symbol as pictured in our photo gallery. The views of Haytor Rocks and the South Devon coast from this upper section of the Templer Way are spectacular. Note that if you start on a sunny morning, the sun will be to the east so your view will be a little obscured by light.
The Templer Way then fringes Yarner Wood and its steep valley before running through open countryside to the border of the National Park. It's easy walking if you are heading from Haytor Down to the coast as it's downhill and the footing is good. The other direction is a bit of a slog.
Leaving Dartmoor National Park and walking to the coast
Whilst the rest of the Templer Way is outside the geographic scope of this site, the path runs through the beautiful Stover Country Park before connecting with the disused Stover Canal. From there, it heads past Newton Abbot and the Teign Estuary to Shaldon and Teignmouth.
The path is named after the Templer family who built Stover Canal and the Haytor Granite Tramway. The Templer family owned the quarries on Haytor Down in addition to clay workings and Stover Estate. Today, the Templer family home is a school and a section of the grounds of the old Stover Estate is Stover Country Park.
Photo Gallery
