Trendlebeare Down

Trendlebeare Down is nationally important. It is a National Nature Reserve (NNR) and is now managed by English Nature. Trendlebeare Down is important because it is a lowland heath that is lower than 250m in altitude - the altitude is important. It has heather and gorse but maybe more importantly it has stonechats and tree pipits as birds and bristlebent, cross -leaved heath and bell heather as main vegetation. Trendlebeare consists of 3 main units:

• Yarner Wood - rare butterflies and winter breeding for birds
• Trendlesbeare Down - nightjars, linnets, stonechats and others
• Bovey valley Woodlands - rare butterflies & bird wintering / breeding sites

Unfortunately, Trendlebeare is subject to fire. April, 7th 1997 saw a dreadful fire which took hold of nearly 300 acres of heathland. In March 27th 2015 there was another one. 300 acres of heathland were incinerated and a number of high profile butterfly populations ceased to be.

Park at the car park at SX 772797. Take the southern path that loops around and takes you down to Yarner Wood. Cross the road and enter Yarner Wood for a bit before exiting on the northen hillside and taking the trackway down to the carpark beside the Dartmoor way. Then head down the Dartmoor way trackway which will take you to the river Bovey. Walk upstream and when the Becka Brook diverges then follow this stream. Take a suitable exit point and walk up one of the Trendlebeare Down valleys. Depending on the time of year this may not be easy to start with but eventually you'll find youself on the upper slopes of the down and near to the road. Once at the road then simply walk back to the car park.

Walk is about 3 miles although it may seem a little more owing to the climbing involved. No military areas and nothing to really get concerned about. However, scrambling up the hillside may be more challenging than anticipated so good footwear is really essential.

	The car park at SX 772797. This is a substantial car park so it is strange that on a sunny April morning there is hardly anyone here.
	SX 772795 - one of the paths on top of Trendlebeare Down. This area is lined with heather and gorse. Gorse fires are not rare events at Trendlebeare. There was a big fire here some weeks back and you can see the evidence on the left side.
	SX 772793 - a lovely east view over Trendlebeare Down. The edge of Yarner Wood is just on the right.
	SX 776792 - a woodland path on the edge of Yarner Wood.
	SX 777793 - Trendlebeare Down. This picture shows well the devastation that the recent gorse fire made here.
	SX 778793 - more evidence of the damage that gorse fires make to Trendlebeare Down.
	SX 780794 - looking over towards Lustleigh Cleave
	SX 782795 - the heading on down the Dartmoor Way. This is a nice track that is popular with walkers that want to walk around the moor. (Note this differs from the cyclists' Dartmoor Way)
	SX 780797 - Dartmoor Way. A lovely wooded trackway. We are on the edge of the Bovey valley woodlands.
	SX 776802 - the bridge over the Becka Brook.
	SX 773803 - the Becka Brook. The Becka Brook is just one of Dartmoor's most beautiful streams. It is a short brook but well known to many visitors.
	SX 770802 - walking up through the woodland in April. This is harder than you might expect. In full summer it would be even more difficult owing to the plant cover. There are some lovely birch trees here.
	SX 769800 - walking up the main eastern valley of Trendlebeare. As you can see there's a lot of dead bracken around. Probably not the easiest place to go walking in the summer.
	SX 769799 - the view over the eastern valley at Trendlebeare.
	SX 769798 - the view over the eastern valley at Trendlebeare. Gorse and bracken abound here.
	SX 769797 - walking beside the main road back to the carpark at Trendlebeare Down.