Outer Hope Circular

3 miles (4.8km)

Start at Outer Hope

Finish at Outer Hope

Fancy getting to know the village of Hope Cove better? This circular route around Outer Hope will reveal more about the village you are staying in. Get a taste of rural Devon living as you wander through countryside lanes and fields. 

The route

• Start by following the coastal path towards Thurlestone up the steep hill and through the gate. Follow the right fork of the path and down the hill where the path bends to the right. 

As you reach the top of the hill on the coastal path, you will be able to see the rock arches at Beacon Point. 

• Go through a gate down to the road and then follow it away from the beach, up the valley towards South Huish Farm. Take the narrow lane opposite the farm and follow it up a hill until you come into a field. 

Make sure that you shut any gates you went through, especially near farms where cattle may be grazing. 

• As you walk through the field, keep left until you reach a gate to the road. Turn left down the road and after approximately 40 metres you will need to cross a stile in the hedge on your right. Cross the field to a short track into the road. 

• Turn right along the road then left down a lane on the far side of the first house. Once you reach the road, turn left then right into Benns Close. At the bottom of the close continue down the field to the footbridge. Cross the field until you reach a stile in the hedge, which turns into a track. 

As you walk through the village, see if you can spot any reminders of its fishing and smuggling history. 

• Walk along the track and up the field to a stile in the wall beside a gate. Go over the stile and turn right onto the ridgeway path. Follow the path through several fields to come out at a gate and down to a road. Cross the road and go down the steps to the left of the chapel before taking the first right-hand turn back along the path to Outer Hope. 

At the chapel, look out over the water and imagine the ships of a Spanish Armada passing close to Hope Cove as they moved up the Channel in 1588 with the aim of removing the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I and restoring Catholicism to England.