Route summary: Not a long ride, but steep hills and very rocky terrain at times mean it’s best suited to experienced riders who like a technical challenge.
Stats: Distance: 15.5km (9.6 miles) Total climb: 675m (2,215ft)Time: 1hr to 2hrs
Location details: Dartmoor National Park is an area of moorland covering 954km2. The quiet valleys, dense woods, huge rocks, ferns and moss give a real feeling of isolation and remoteness, as well as providing some excellent, technical, rocky riding.
Start/finish: Manaton car park (grid ref SX750/812, postcode TQ13 9UJ).
Getting there: Manaton is a small village south-west of Exeter, situated south of the A382 which runs between Mortonhampstead and Newton Abbot. The car park is immediately off the crossroads by the church, behind the wooden bus shelter.
Facilities: Stay at the Ring of Bells Inn in North Bovey (http://ringofbells.net, 01647 440375) or, if you’re on a budget, try the YHA-run Great Hound Tor Camping Barn (www.yha.org.uk, 01647 221202). The Kestor Inn in Manaton (www.kestorinn.com), 01647 221626) also has rooms. Bovey Tracey tourist information on 01626 832047. Bigpeaks bike shop is on the A38 in Ashburton and open seven days a week (www.bigpeaks.com), 01364 654080.
Directions: Go past the wooden bus shelter (on your left) and bear right at the fork. After 100m turn right on a bridleway. Keep ahead on this until you reach a fork on the edge of Water. Bear left for a technical (and wet) descent. Ignore the permissive bridleway.
Cross the bridge and go left at the fork, for a steep push uphill. Go left again, signposted to Foxworthy. Go right by Hunters Barn cottage, along the hillside and then right again to Peck Farm. There’s now another steep walk uphill, on the left of the fields.
Nearing the top, keep sharp right to a gate and go left along the top of the hill (with great views) to the start of the Nut Crackers trail. Follow this technical, rocky trail downhill, going right before a gate, and then uphill back to the junction from step 2.
Keep left and then left again, on a bridleway you haven’t ridden yet, downhill. Keep left at the bottom to climb back uphill. Drop down to a road and turn right, then immediately bear right to join a rough track. Keep ahead/left on this track into you reach the T-junction at the end.
Go right here, past the houses, and follow the bridleway downhill. Cross the footbridge at the bottom and go right on the byway. Cross another footbridge and keep left, uphill.Join the tarmac road back to Water.
Keep right at the fork and right again between the houses, then go left to rejoin the bridleway you came along in step 1. Retrace your route along this, keeping left until you return to the car park in Manaton.
Route type: Cross Country