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Route Withypool - Tarr Steps - Knaplock County Somerset Difficulty Moderate Distance 16km (10 miles) Typical time Five hours OS grid reference: SS872323, Explorer OL 9 Starting point Withypool: approach from the B3223, cross the river bridge and the car park is on your right.

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Blister rating: 2/5

View rating: 3/5

Why I love this walk

The perfect walk with four small children should be downhill, involve animals, water, climbing-trees and ice creams and provide a pub for adults at the end. The walk from Withypool to the Tarr Steps in Exmoor even has peacocks. It starts at The Royal Oak pub in Withypool, which has the best chips in the National Park.

From there it’s downhill over stiles, through woods and across sheep fields along the River Barle for an hour and a half (if you are under 10) to the farm at the Tarr Steps. Here you can paddle with the Exmoor ponies and have a hot chocolate.

The path then meanders over the moors, then down to Withypool for tea or another beer. Alternatively park a second car at the bottom of the hill.

The route

1 Leave the car park and go back across the bridge, through the village, past the pub and up the hill.

2 On the steepest part of the hill, cross a stile on your right and take the path down to the river.

3 Don’t cross the river; take the path on its east bank.

4 At this field, take the route all the way around it, keeping close to the river.

5 Follow the signposted path to Tarr Steps, still on the east side of the river.

6 Pass the bridge, keeping to the east side of the river.

7 Take the path closest to the river.

8 Tarr Steps; Tarr Farm has teas, lunches and ice cream.

9 Take the road up the hill. Immediately after the barn beside Tarr Farm, turn left on to the track and through the gate. Take the grassy path that climbs up the field ahead of you.

10 When you reach the gate at the top of the first field, cross the next field to the gate in the trees 50m left of the large beech.

11 Go straight across the field, through the gate under the tree trunk and continue alongside the hedge on the right.

12 At the far end of this field go through the gate signed Comer’s Gate via Knaplock into a small valley to the next gate and down to a bridge. Head to a signpost in a lane and turn right to pass through a farm gate.

13 Just past the barns the track veers left through a gate. Take the left-hand fork alongside the hedge.

14 Take the path up the hill. It bears to the left again. Keep going, keeping the boundary to your left.

15 Ignore the path forking to the right and keep on between trees and an earth wall on the left. Coming to moorland, keep close to the boundary on your left.

16 The boundary turns sharp left, but keep straight on. The path across the moor is indistinct, but you will soon see the road.

17 Head towards Comer’s Gate, which is on the right-hand side of this clump of trees. Go through the gate and up the B3223, past the crossroads.

18 At the brow of the hill is a stile and a signpost to Withypool. Follow the path along the left-hand side of two fields.

19 The path turns sharp left, as indicated on the sign.

20 Go to the corner ahead to cross the stepped stile. Turn right along the top of this field, passing through the gap to the gate ahead.

21 Continue ahead and left, to the corner of the fenced-off area, following round to the left to the next stepped stile and signpost.

22 Walk around the boggy ground to keep to the top of the field to another stepped way over the wall. Drop down this field to a stile in the corner.

23 Drop down steeply to the road, almost opposite the stile taken at the beginning of the walk. Turn right, back to Withypool.

Source: www.walkingworld.com

Contributor: Bryan Cath, Walk No 7

Things to see

A varied and fascinating walk passing the River Barle, the ancient Tarr Steps and moorland

Pub rating: 3/5

Pub: The Royal Oak Inn, Withypool
A pub and B&B that is renowned for its locally-sourced food and selection of Exmoor ales

Where to stay

The Ship Inn
One of the oldest inns on Exmoor, the Ship Inn has five en-suite bedrooms and serves home made locally-sourced food and real ales and ciders

Porlock Vale House
You can book country pursuits here, including clay-pigeon shooting and fly-fishing, and it has its own stables

Andrews on the Weir
This stately Georgian restaurant with rooms offers coastal views across Porlock Weir

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