Avon Dam - the quiet way!

A walk prepared by Phil Watson from Moorland Guides

This alternative route from Shipley Bridge car park to Avon Dam should afford you some peace and quiet, once you leave the accessible road, trampled by many feet, paws and wheels! But it is a walk for ‘bracken warriors’ and except for the most hardy of those, should only be attempted when the bracken is low; so between October and April.

This six-mile walk, which can be extended to eight and a half miles, a highly recommended extension, will take you to Shipley Tor, Grippers Hill, Puper’s Hill (the extension), then downhill all the way past Avon Dam and along the ‘highway’ back to the car park.

Shipley Bridge car park has toilets, a mobile tea shop and is a pay and display car park costing £4 for a day. It has RingGo, number 28855 and as mobile signal is almost non-existent, it is worth paying before leaving home for the day.

The car park has an information board which gives a brief history of the naphtha distilling plant and China clay works which once took place here.

From the car park head north along the tarmac road passing Hunter’s Stone with names carved on it. Continue straight ahead with the River Avon on your right. You will soon come to the remains of Brentmoor House. This started as a 17th century farmstead. Over the centuries it was the home of various occupants, becoming unoccupied in the 1880s. During WWII it was leased by Friends Relief Service (FRS) to house 16 deaf children from Plymouth. After the war it was used as a Youth Hostel until 1955 when the Avon Dam’s construction created a potential flood hazard and so it was once again left unoccupied. Dereliction and vandalism took its toll and so in 1968 the Royal Marines were brought in to complete the demolition with explosives. This is a very pleasant stroll but also very popular so expect company until after three quarters of a mile you reach the bridge which crosses the river.

Immediately after crossing the bridge look for a faint path amongst the bracken on your right. Here you leave the road and begin an ascent to Rockwell Ridge. You will need to use your pathfinding skills to find leads through the bracken, but there are ways up to the ridge if you keep on a roughly easterly bearing. Once you are on the ridge turn to the south keeping to the ridge. Again you will need to show skill and cunning to find a way through the bracken and gorse. Eventually you will spy Shipley Tor, which will give you a target to aim for. There are routes through all this vegetation, so treat it as an adventure!

From Shipley Tor a wall runs off in a northeasterly direction. Stick alongside the wall where you will find a reasonably easy grassy path although you may need to negotiate the occasional gorse bush which is hugging the wall. Eventually the wall will turn to a northerly direction up a hill and then gently bends round to the right. When the wall falls away to the right, keep in a general northeasterly direction and you will soon come across a fairly clear track running from south-east to a northwesterly direction. Turn left on to this track and follow it as it swings to a northerly direction.

As you reach the top of a long rise you will find a small path bisecting your track. There is an option to turn left and visit the summit of Grippers Hill. The shape of this hill robs you of any exciting views of the surrounding land. If you have ventured up Grippers Hill now return to the track and continue in a northwesterly direction where you will soon cross the Abbots Way path running east - west.

On the skyline ahead you will see Puper’s Hill and beyond on the right Snowdon can be seen (you are NOT in Wales!). Now you need to decide whether you want to extend the walk by 2.5 miles and follow the ridge path to Puper’s Hill. There are magnificent views, especially to the south as you walk up the ridge.

If you have visited Puper’s Hill you can either retrace your steps along the clear path to the Abbots Way junction, or, if you are feeling adventurous, head south across the rough moor to the Settlement at Hickaton Hill, picking up a clear track, which is the Two Moors Way, heading south-west to Huntington Cross. From here you join the Abbot’s Way heading east, but take the right-hand fork near the tail of the reservoir and follow this until you cross a stream at the north-east corner of the reservoir.

If you have decided not to ascend the Puper’s, then turn left on to Abbots Way in a westerly direction and then left again before you reach a small river. This will take you to the Avon Dam.

Once you have reached the dam, it is an easy walk down the road and a spectacular valley alongside the river, which will take you back to the car park.