Chawleigh

Welcome to Chawleigh

Chawleigh is a village on the south side of the Little Dart valley. With stunning views of Dartmoor and links to the Two Moors Way and Tarka Trail, as well as Eggesford Forest the area is a great place to stay for a walking holiday.

Chenson Woods Bluebells hosts an amazing carpet of bluebells every May which draws crowds of visitors to the woods at Chenson farm on the A377, half way between Exeter and Barnstaple. They last a couple of weeks, then they’re gone for another year; a stunning sight.

You could have a bite to eat at the Haywood Restaurant at the Fox and Hounds Hotel. The hotel also offers cosy accommodation, including a luxury Treehouse nestled in the woods (featured on BBC’s Countryfile!).

Interesting Facts:

  • The walks around Chawleigh offer stunning views of Dartmoor (Chawleigh 1, Chawleigh 2  and Chawleigh 3 routes are on our site).  In particular, you will be able to see the tors of Cosdun (Cawsand) Hill and High Willhayes, the highest point on Dartmoor.
  • Chawleigh parish features an ancient settlement: Burridge – a pre-roman village or settlement ringed by double banks and a ditch.  Nearby is the Iron Age hillfort Burridge Camp situated on a hilltop overlooking the valley of the Little Dart River.
  • Devon County Council promote an 11-mile walking route called the Little Dart Ridge and Valley Walk, which links the Two Moors Way at Witheridge to the Tarka Trail (Eggesford Train Station) and passes through Chawleigh.
  • Chawleigh is home to the Church Of St James with its lychgate’s small ‘lifting gate’.

Things to Do:

  • Roughly equidistant between Exeter and Barnstaple along the A377, lies the Queen’s Stone picnic and walking area.  This stunning viewpoint offers a peaceful rest stop along the Exeter – Barnstable road where you can visit the Queen’s Stone, picnic at the forest picnic benches and walk your dog along an attractive mile-long woodland circular walk. (Parking is free)
  • Chawleigh’s annual fair takes place on the first Saturday in June.
  • Try clay pigeon shooting or paintballing in Chawleigh across over 200 acres of sporting landscape with Blue Fox Glade Target Sports.
  • Eggesford railway station is a rural station just outside the village serving Eggesford, Chumleigh and surrounding villages. The line links Exeter and Barnstaple along the single track ‘Tarka Line’.
  • Try some wild swimming in the Little Dart River!

Nearby:

  • Chulmleigh
  • Coldridge
  • Eggesford
  • Lapford
  • Wembworthy

Acknowledgement:

Image courtesy of Barrie Cann / Chenson Woods Bluebells / CC BY-SA 2.0

Thanks to Chawleigh Parish Council for providing information and walking routes

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