Visit Mid Devon / Walking routes / Hemyock to Culmstock Beacon
Walking

Hemyock to Culmstock Beacon

Long (6+ miles)
dog-friendly Dog Friendly
Visit Culmstock Beacon; a stone signal station built to warn of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Starting from Millhayes for (longer route) or Whitehall (shorter route).
Hemyock to Culmstock Beacon

Approximate time: short route- 1¾hrs long route- 3hrs

Distance: short route- 4½miles/7km long route-7 miles/11.5km

Type of Walk: This is a challenging route consisting of some difficult terrain, miles of track, footpath and country lane. A wonderful, varied walk of fields, woods and heath, with the added bonus of glorious views.

Parking:

There is a place to park cars on Withy Lane about 0.5km west of Whitehall.

Directions:

  1. From Lower Millhayes, cross the main road, go a few metres uphill and take the lane on the left signposted Withy Lane.
  2. Ignore a right turn after 1km and proceed a further 1km to the little hamlet of Whitehall.
  3. Continue a few metres past a left turn with a post-box set in a wall, and take the lane on the right, opposite a thatched house, signposted to Culm Davey: another little hamlet with a delightful Elizabethan chapel.
  4. Continue past the chapel for 100m and take the second lane on the left by a post-box, heading uphill. This soon becomes a track going through woodland. Follow the track for 1.5km, (ignoring and right hand fork), to a gate opening to heathland. Make a note of the gate, because you will be returning by the same track!
  5. Go straight ahead for a few meters, onto a wide grass track. (You are now on Blackdown Common, which is criss-crossed with many paths that you are free to walk).
  6. Turn left on the grass track and walk 0.5km to a stoney track.
  7. Bear left, past a pond on your left, and take the second track on the left.
  8. After 0.5km, this brings you to Culmstock Beacon; a circular, stone building, that was part of a nation-wide system used in times of peril such as the Armada (there is an information board to tell you more). From here, there are wonderful views westward to Dartmoor.
  9. To return, take the right-most of the several paths that converge at the beacon, and that follows the edge of the hill looking over the Culm valley back towards Hemyock. This will bring you back to the gate and woodland track.
  10. Retrace your steps to the post-box and then take the narrow lane immediately on your right. After 300m, take an even narrower lane on the right (which soon becomes a track) with a foot path sign. Walk down here to a lane.
  11. Turn left and continue for a further 1km to a T-junction and turn left again.
  12. You have now returned to Withy Lane, which will take you back to Whitehall and then Millhayes.

 With thanks to the Blackdown Hills AONB for this walking route.

 

Hemyock to Culmstock Beacon

Cullompton & The Culm Valley
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Whichever route you choose, please observe The Countryside Code.  Please park your car with consideration to residents and other road users and, most important of all, enjoy yourself and our lovely Mid Devon countryside.

The Countryside Code:

  • Respect other people and enjoy the outdoors and the communities you visit.
  • Leave gates and property as you find them.
  • Leave no trace of your visit and take your litter home.
  • Keep dogs under effective control.
  • Plan ahead and be prepared and use pathways unless wider accesses are available.
  • Follow advice and local signage.
  • For the full Countryside Code, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-countryside-code/the-countryside-code

Mid Devon District Council at Phoenix House, Phoenix Lane, Tiverton, EX16 6PP (“we”, “us” or “our”) operate the website www.visitmiddevon.co.uk (our “Website“).

We provide information for users of the Website (“you” or “your“), including written, diagrammatic and photographic material, in relation to walking and cycling routes in Devon (the “Routes“). Whilst every effort is taken to ensure that the Routes are correct and accurate, we do not accept any responsibility for errors, omissions or other inaccuracies.

Details of the Routes may change for a number of reasons including, but not limited to, changes in the landscape, variances of rights of way, adverse weather conditions or livestock. We do not guarantee to monitor these and it is your responsibility to make appropriate enquiries to determine whether any such situations have affected the Routes and it is your responsibility to check for the suitability of a Route and for the existence of any hazards.

You are responsible for your own safety and wellbeing whilst using the Routes – it is essential that you are properly equipped and that you are using the Routes in conjunction with a map and compass. We may give an indication of the nature and difficulty of the Routes, however it remains entirely your responsibility to ensure that they are suitable and that you are fit and capable enough to undertake them.  Please remember that mountain biking is a potentially hazardous activity carrying a significant risk. It should only be undertaken with a full understanding of all inherent risks. The difficulty levels provided are only guides and must always be used in conjunction with the exercise of your own experience, intuition and careful judgment.

We will not be liable in any way for any direct, indirect, punitive or consequential damages arising out of, or in any way in connection with, the use of the Routes or participation in related activities. If you choose to rely on the Routes or participate in such activities, including walking the Routes, you do so entirely at your own risk.

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